Of Beast and Man
by Izanagi84
Summary: Set a year after the events of Advent Children. The Strifes are on their way to starting their family life, However, it might not be in the way they had hoped... or expected. Family oriented, humour and romance guaranteed. Cloud x Tifa.
1. Chapter 1

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations.

**Summary: **Set a year after the events of Advent Children, the Strifes are on their way to starting their family life. However, it might not be in the way they had hoped... or expected. Humour and Romance guaranteed. Cloud/Tifa.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

This story is predominately drama free, and totally angst free! I love a good drama story, but I also love to read those laid back, family oriented stories that have a plot. So, if that's your thing, this is for you.

**Pre-A/N: **Since my inbox is getting a few questions regarding later chapters, I'm adding this in at the start.

_**For fuck sake, FFVII isn't just AC.**_

Advent Children is a tiny span of time after the epic events of the game. If you haven't played the game and only seen the movie, I really do suggest playing it. Else, you won't understand some of the things going on here.

* * *

One year post Advent Children.

7th Heaven, EDGE.

2:36am

* * *

The 7th Heaven had closed over half an hour ago. Halogen bulbs illuminated the dining area, adding a mild warmth to the room that just managed to cut through the chill of winter nights.

"This is the last night. We made a promise and this is the _last_ night!" Tifa let out a loud sigh and slumped forward onto her elbows. The table was damp with spilt liqour, wine and beer. Her steel tumbler slipped from her fingers, its contents adding to the wet mess.

"T-teefah... how 'kin yoo hol-*belch*-hold your drink sho well?" The patron opposite her practically gargled his words, cheek down on the leather covered table; oblivious to any and everything.

"Lets just get you out of here, I don't want you vomiting all over my floor."

She hopped up and spent several minutes attempting to lift the man onto his own legs. His dead weight didn't help, being the large man that he was. After moving him halfway out of the chair, she simply dragged the man by his arms out onto the wooden steps. The night was bitterly cold. She reached up to rub her arms before jogging back inside to call a taxi; glancing sidewards to the man through the window. Utterly inebriated, she knew she couldn't just leave him outside, lest he freeze.

Minutes passed as she waited; busying herself with cleaning the bar, slipping glasses into the dishwasher and cashing up the tills. When the taxi finally arrived, she handed the driver a 20 gil note, looked down at the sleeping drunk and handed the driver another 5 gil in change.

"Make sure he gets home please," she chided. The driver chuckled at her pointing finger, his breath condensing in the air.

"I always do!" He grabbed the drunk by the underarms, she grabbed his legs and together they carried the man into the back seat.

"Take it easy, Tifa." The driver gave her a small wave as he dropped into the driver's seat and started the rickety engine.

"You too! Goodnight, Mark." She gave a brief wave back and turned to look at their home, which she found herself scrutinizing with lowered brows. A sigh passed her pouted, rosy lips. "Alone again."

Her legs carried her slowly up the steps and into the bar as the sound of the engine disappeared. After locking the door, she yanked on the window blind's cord, dropping them with a crunch onto the windowsill and, finally, spun the door sign to 'CLOSED' before making her way upstairs.

Tifa removed her boots at the top of the stairs and placed them to the left, where they stored most shoes. Silently, she tiptoed through the hallway and ever so carefully pushed the first bedroom door open. The hinges let out a reluctant squeal. She cringed at the sound, holding the door in place as she slipped her head into the small opening. Satisfied that Marlene and Denzel were asleep, she left the door slightly ajar and moved into the living room.

Her gazed passed over the dining table. She took in a deep breath of air and slowly released it, the apartment was so peaceful, it was almost over. Only a box and small package were left for delivery, one more round trip at most, perhaps not even a full day away from home and then he would be here.

Her eyelids fell shut as her mind wandered. After years of separation mentally, physically but oftentimes both; he would finally come back. She couldn't hold back her a shuddering breath, unsure if it was due to the cold, or that she had waited for so many long, painful years.

The scent of engine oil caught her attention; the soft breeze shifted and a pair of hands gently rested on her hips. She smiled and tilted her head, leaning back.

"Sorry, that last delivery was in Junon," Cloud whispered. He'd become more mindful of his voice lately, not that he was loud, but he still worried about waking the kids.

"It's fine, I wasn't expecting you back until early morning, anyway." She reclined into his chest.

"I wanted to come home." He applied gentle pressure with his fingers; glad that he'd removed his ragged gloves, just touching her seemed to sooth his aching fingers.

"No more deliveries?"

"Just those two."

"No more leaving me alone, cold, in bed, because you don't like the heater and _still _haven't shown me how to use it?"

"Tifa... It's not that I don't like the heater. I don't trust it," he stated vehemently; they'd discussed this before.

She just turned her eyes up at him. "So, is that a yes or a no?"

"No more nights with no heater," he continued; setting the record straight.

It began to dawn on her that _finally_, they could relax in each other's company without fearing the alarm clock, or the beating of small hands on the door followed by, _"Cloud! Carrie in Kalm lost her... and she needs you to deliver a new one! She said she'd pay..." _A devilish smirk played at her lips as she reached her hands down to cover his, thumbing his ice-cold fingers. It didn't matter how much Carrie wanted to smother him, it just wasn't going to happen.

"Since we're going to be closed for the weekend, I used some of the best meat and vegies up." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Yours is in the oven, would you like for me to warm it up?"

After giving her a small pat on the waist, he backed away from her. "It's fine. I'm too hungry to wait." Heading for the oven, he yanked open the huge fridge door on the way and grabbed a bottle of water.

Tifa followed behind him, grabbing the door before it could close and pulled a beer can from one of the many shelves. She let it shut on its own and walked over to the sofa; throwing herself down into its huge cushions with a relaxed sigh, she popped the can open.

Anyone watching from the outside wouldn't have thought it a particularly eventful or momentous evening. However, as Tifa sat there, watching Cloud squeeze the remnants of his drink past his parched lips, she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip with excitement.

* * *

7th Heaven

Two weeks ago.

* * *

"Have a good night!" I called out after the last two customers. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, I ran up to it and flicked all three bolt, spun the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED' and didn't even bother to close the blinds.

My shoulders slumped as I let out a deep breath, leaning back against the doorframe. The bar had been so busy lately that I just couldn't cope with the amount of customers and general workload.

Nanaki had offered to help. With the aid of some strategic kisses I'd managed to palm the explanation of health and safety off on Cloud. It saved me one heck of an awkward conversation. Besides, those two got along rather well.

At the very least he would come upstairs to see us, sometimes even his mate, Lynnea would come along. She was a graceful, inexplicably kind creature; similar in build to her partner, only she smaller and had a slight lavender tinge to her fur. Marlene and Denzel just couldn't help themself when they brought along the youngest edition to their feline family, Harcos. The cute little pup was only three months old and was no larger than a small house cat.

I couldn't help but smile, that little family were strangely intriguing, terrifyingly strong, yet so kind and compassionate.

Vincent, Barret, Cid, Reeve and even Shera had all been too busy to help at all.

Yuffie, strangely, had been a little saint. Offering to help me with taking orders and serving food during her two week holiday from work. She didn't want to accept any wages, but there was no way I could let her leave every day without some kind of payment. So, I'd cook her breakfast, lunch and dinner. It seemed to appease the younger girl and it cleared my conscience, too.

Even then, with the extra pair of hands, the last few days had been absolute _hell_. We'd been inundated with customers; often having to shut the bar hours earlier than normal, since we just didn't have any more food left to serve.

I turned off all the lights and wobbled up the stairs into our modest apartment. It wasn't exactly small, but with so many boxes, packages and piles of mismatched paperwork around, it certainly seemed that way. Having successfully slipped through the piles of mail, I kicked off my boots and threw myself unceremoniously onto the sofa.

"Tired?"

I blinked and sat up. My cheeks burned with embarassment as I realised my feet had landed in the middle of Cloud's chest. "I'm so sorry, Cloud! I didn't realise you were home already!"

He just smiled and shook his head. "I needed to plan routes for the next week. I'll be gone for a while."

My shoulder's slumped again; I hated hearing that. "Okay," I sighed.

"What's wrong?" He asked innocently. I tilted my head. My feet were blocking his view, but I could tell he was looking at me. I tilted my feet in both directions so I could see him.

"We've just been so busy recently, I was hoping you'd be around to help out."

He reached his hands up and held my feet between his fingers and thumbs. I groaned quietly as he ran small circles through my socks, soothing my aching soles. "Sorry, Tifa."

"Why don't you just stop the delivery service? You could work with me." I closed my eyes and dropped my head onto the fluffy cushions. "We could build an extention onto the building since there's so much empty space next to us. Put in an open view kitchen behind the counter, hire more staff..." I rambled; my thoughts suddenly moving at breakneck speeds. I wasn't quite sure why I was voicing them, though.

"If that's what you want." His voice was level, familiar. It never failed to relax me. His hands, meanwhile, were working pure magic on my tired feet. I couldn't beli- wait. Waaaait a minute.

I raised myself up with my elbows and blew a stray strand of hair from my eyes. "What did you say?" I asked him, my eyes wide with shock and a glimmer of hope.

His eyebrows met in the middle while looking at me as though I had two heads. "I said, if that's what you want."

I blinked once. Twice. I yanked my feet away from him and scurried to my hands and knees, crawling over him. His expression shifted to one of shock; eyes were wide open and occasionally blinking as I looked between them, searching for any hint of a joke.

I shook my head. "I wouldn't ask you to do this if-"

"I know."

I bit my bottom lip. "It's not like I want to stop you fr-"

"I know." He nodded, flashing me a small lopsided smile.

Maybe it was because I'd been so tired or the amount of stress I'd been under. Maybe even because it was late and I was hungry. I didn't know why, but tears welled up in my eyes. I fell on top of him and buried my head into his chest; sobbing quietly, unashamedly.

"Are you okay?" His voice echoed his concern as he held on to my shoulders. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"

I laughed through sniffles, slamming the bottom of my fist into his arm as I squeezed the collar of his shirt with my other hand. "I'm fine. I'm just so... I don't know. It's been so hard recently with the kids, the bar, housework... I never get a break."

It wasn't nice pouring this onto him all in one go. He'd been oblivious, not that it was his fault. He had his issues and problems to deal with, too.

His arms rested across my back. "Sorry... for not being able to help," he said quietly, his voice laced with guilt.

I shook my head and sniffed. "It's not your fault, Cloud."

We laid in silence for a few moments, my tears gradually drying up as I listened to his heartbeat. He just laid still, but not stiffly; allowing me time to relax.

"It will take some time to deliver the last packages and tell people the service is closing."

"That's fine."

"I'll still have to leave for a while."

"That's okay." Feelings of excitement and guilt rushed through me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked him.

He laid in silence for a few moments. "The income from the bar is more than good. I'd get to be at home all the time and that beats having to drive all over the world."

I frowned and lifted my head to look into his blue, glimmering eyes that had already focused on me. "But... I thought you enjoyed it?"

He shrugged. "It was fun for a while, but now I just dread having to drive all the way to Corel or Rocket Town."

My eyes fell closed as I felt my body truly relax. His warmth was making me sleepy. "Teaching you how to cook will be fun," I chuckled through my words and returned to the warmth of his body.

His hands reached over to my back, running small circles over my shoulderblades for some time. It could have been hours, I wasn't sure.

"Let's get some sleep," he whispered. I barely managed a nod.

We woke up that morning in the exact same positions.

I had to give him a back rub before he could drive.

* * *

7th Heaven, EDGE

Present Day

* * *

The offensive ringing of my alarm clock finally came to an end. I retreated into my pillow; yanked the duvet over my head as I stretched my legs and let out a long, jaw-aching yawn. I didn't want to wake up yet. Not yet. Please, not yet.

It took me several minutes to gather the resolve, but I finally managed to kick away the sea of downy comfort and hop to my feet. I stepped towards the window and took a moment to glance through the drapes, smiling at the sight of the back yard; deviod of both Cloud and Fenrir.

After throwing on my blue jeans and a skin tight, white t-shirt, I started towards the door. Pausing, I backstepped, my peripheral vision spotting a small, yellow piece of paper on my dresser. I picked it up and scanned over the scratchy handwriting.

_Tifa,_

_Last two packages. Kalm and Bill. Back by lunch._

_Love you,_

_Cloud._

_P.S: Postmaster left a box, put it in the bar. It's heavy, be careful._

It may have said something entirely different, it was impossible to tell with Cloud's awful Chocobo scratch writing. It was always easy to make out the middle part, though. I raised on my toes and fell back onto my heels with a sigh. Despite it being cold, I felt a wave of warmth pass through me. Cloud was never back by lunch, which meant these were the last two packages.

"_The_ last packages!" I couldn't hide my excitement, not even from myself. A smile worked my lips, I couldn't help it. The day had suddenly become much brighter, despite the pouring rain outside.

I took a quick glance at the alarm clock. "It's not turned seven yet, plenty of time!"

I strode into the kitchen and quickly poured myself a cup of steaming coffee from the machine. I noticed that he'd even left out the sugar, milk and a pork sandwich from last night. So, with mug in hand and sandwich in mouth; I made my way down into the bar and flipped the lights on.

After finishing my sandwich, I went to work tearing open the large box. My eyes lit up as I looked over the goodies inside. New knives of all shapes and sizes; copper pots, non-stick frying pans and an electric griddle over three feet wide underneath all of that. Not to mention that this was only the first of three deliveries.

I hopped up and stretched my arms, breathing out with renewed vigor for a long day of setting up and preparing.

"Perfect!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please read and review. This is a new story and my second attempt at uploading. Reviews with constructive criticism will go a long way in helping me out, I won't bite back if you're trying to help out.  
**

**So, this story is set post-AC, post-Tifa and Cloud falling madly in love. Let's just face it, anyone reading this is a Tifa/Cloud fan, and I'm aiming for a different story without rehashing something that's been done better elsewhere.  
**

**Bonus points to anyone who can work out what the two new feline's names mean. As in, BIG bonus points! No, Carrie. You're not allowed.  
**

**All the best.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

Ellie is property of Carrietheninja. She has awesome stories, one based around Reno and Elena, in fact. Well worth reading.

Edit: Several page breaks didn't stick when I saved the last revision, apologies if you're re-reading.

* * *

Town Center, EDGE.

1:32pm.

* * *

His wet nose pointed into the sky, twitching from side to side as he took in the scent around EDGE. People gave him wary looks; parents would put hands on their children's shoulders. He closed his good eye and just shook his head. "At least they aren't screaming anymore," he commented.

Nanaki's long frame sashayed with his movements, his long tail waving in the light breeze. Harcos straddled his back; holding on to his father's mane with under-developed claws, mewling at people nearby with innocent fascination.

"Ellie, no!" A woman cried. She chased after her blonde haired charge; the young girl tottered towards the felines.

Nanaki simply looked up to the woman with a well trained eye. "There is nothing to fear, we will not harm you."

The mother looked at him with varying expressions of shock, amazement and fear.

"You... you can... talk?"

"I would hope so, miss," he jested.

Harcos attempted to reach a paw out to touch the giggling girl's hand. With a squeak, he felt himself slipping and struggled to grab on to his father's thick coat. Alas, he lost his grip and fell to the ground with a quiet bump.

"Kitty hurt himself!" The young girl, Ellie, exclaimed and ran up to the small pup. Her mother watched on with a look of fascination.

"This is my son, Harcos. He is three months old. My name is Nanaki, I am 48 years old." He attempted to make conversation with the lady. Not that he appreciated being treated as a common beast, but even less, he despised being seen as a threat.

"My... that... you're older than me."

Ellie patted Harcos' head gently as the cub half purred, half mewled. "Kitty likes being petted!"

"Are you sure that he won-"

"I assure you. In human terms, I would be considered a 16 year old. My son, he would be equivalent to a newborn."

People had started to gather in a loose crowd, watching the scene in awe. A young girl stroking a strange breed of a Lion, or Tiger. None were sure, even less would dare to ask. Harcos shuffled on his back paws up to the girl's face and licked at her cheek.

She giggled and wiped away the wet trails left on her skin. "That tickles!"

Nanaki looked over to the two on the ground. His son playing with a small, human child. It was an interesting sight, even for him.

"May I ask your name, miss?"

The woman snapped her gaze to the mature beast. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Where are my manners... my name is Ginny and this is my daughter, Ellie."

"Forgive me for not asking sooner, most people simply do not give me the time before they run away." He spoke quietly. It hadn't been until after the Bahamut incident that people began to question who he was, since he had left for Cosmo Canyon shortly after the events had died down.

The woman regarded him carefully. His head was bowed to the floor, yet he looked so powerful and he had carried himself with such pride. She wondered how such a well mannered, calm, beast-like creature could be so humbled.

Ginny knelt down in front of the red warrior. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," she replied just as quietly.

"Not at all. You have been very kind and understanding." He nodded to her. "I am glad to have met more people who can accept me and my family for what we are."

She tilted her head. "More people?"

"Yes. I have... family, in the area." He picked his words carefully, truthfully.

"That's nice," she replied with a smile.

She looked down at her daughter as she rolled around on the floor with the younger feline. Minutes passed and eventually the tall lady turned back to Nanaki, giving him a smile. "It was very nice to meet you, Nanaki." She reached out for his paw.

He chuckled quietly and lifted it, giving a psuedo handshake. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ginny. I am sure that Harcos enjoyed playing with your daughter, too." Nanaki let out a quiet, deep roar; Harco's quickly stopped his little game and clambered back up his father's leg, climbing up neck to his back and readied himself with a throaty meow.

"Perhaps we'll meet again." He attempted a small smile, then nodded before taking off down the street in a gallop that rivaled the speed of most cars.

No sooner had he left had the crowd of people rushed over, desperate to ask questions about the talking beast.

Ginny couldn't stop thinking, it was such a bizarre event. She turned to the nearest people and smiled. "He was a kinder and more gentle person than most humans I have met."

That was all that she said. Still smiling, she leant down to pick up a now sobbing Ellie. She pushed her little raincoat hood down and ran the back of her finger along her cheek. "It's okay, we'll see kitty again soon."

She spared one last glance in the direction Nanaki had disappeared, then turned and excused herself as she passed through the crowd and headed home. Her family was in for one interesting story tonight.

* * *

"It needs to be smoking hot. Not hot, not warm, _smoking_," Tifa stated.

I nodded and turned on the newly installed griddle plate. It was just a flat, black metal surface; a small section of ridged metal on the far right side changed the look a little, but I still wasn't sure that this was worth 10000 gil.

With a shrug, I looked to the dish on my left. Various sliced meats and fish, along with some thinly sliced onions sat in a circle on the metal platter. Tifa sat to the right of the griddle, her crossed legs dangling over the top's surface as she thoroughly read through the instruction manual.

It wasn't easy for me to focus. Waiting for some metal to heat up didn't require huge amounts of attention, or skill. These new 'casual' clothes helped distract me, though. Tifa had taken me out to buy a pair of loose fitting black jeans and a white t-shirt. I pinched at the fabrics, not understanding why I had to wear them; it was much more comfortable wearing my cargo pants and sweater, they offered more freedom for easier movement.

But Tifa had insisted. "We match!" She'd said. So, dispite me trying to convince her to leave it, I'd given in and gotten changed.

I glanced at her as she read through the manual, again. She'd nod her head and hum to herself as she flicked pages aside. It was hard to bite back a yawn, boredom was setting in. It was quiet, far too quiet. Tifa was reading and I was standing there like a lemon watching a plate of metal heat up.

"When does it get interesting, Tifa?" It'd been a serious question, she'd answered me with a serious kick in the thigh.

"Patience is a virtue," she growled. "You'll see, as soon as you've learned the basics, we'll move on to the harder stuff!" she exclaimed with enough excitement for the both of us.

She hopped off the worktop, flicking hair that'd been trapped under the collar of her shirt and placed the manual where she'd been sat.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her for some reason.

"I'd like to see you try and multitask, Cloud."

...It was the way she said it.

She stood beside me and looked down to the griddle, inspecting the ambient heat with her hand. She hummed softly, avoiding my gaze. Not that it mattered, I could see her cheeks were the stained the same red as mine, and it wasn't because we were embarassed. I couldn't do anything, it was my assignment to learn this afternoon.

"Okay, it's ready." She reached over to grab the platter of meats, to my left. My hands, which were still latching onto the worktop happened to be in the way. I had to bite the insides of my cheeks and close my eyes as her breasts spread over my forearms. My hands were shaking, fighting against my self-control.

How the hell was I supposed to focus now?

"...Cloud?"

My eyes snapped open and dropped their gaze to hers. "...Sorry, Tifa."

She blushed. "It's okay. Now, put your hand over the griddle, but not on it. Feel the heat."

I did as I was told and in all honesty, it didn't feel that hot at all. "It doesn't feel very hot."

"Exactly," she countered almost instantly and nodded her head down at the machine. I looked down and saw that it was smoking. "That's why you check with your eyes, not your hands!"

"That's impressive, Tifa. I wouldn't have noticed," I admitted.

"You weren't paying attention, that's why!" She laughed at my shocked expression.

Of course I wasn't! She had just leaned over and "pressed her breasts against me!"

...Silence. I wanted to close my eyes, knowing full well what was coming.

"Cloud." Her voice held a sharp edge. She crossed her arms, tilted her head and gave me a neutral expression. "I'm trying to teach you here, can you please just focus on this?"

I grit my teeth and sucked in a slow, silent breath. It wasn't my fault! "I'm sorry, what's next?"

She poked her left cheek out, as if contemplating, then just smiled and turned back to the griddle.

"Okay, now you have to season the meat."

"Season? It's Autumn," I stated proudly, though I did my best to hide it.

Judging from the blank stare, I assumed I'd made another mistake.

"Seasoning, Cloud. Not seasons. Salt and pepper are seasoning!" She reached over to the counter and grabbed the two metal grinders.

I could only sigh, my shoulders inadvertantly slumping. "Sorry, Tifa. I'm just not good at this."

"No, no, no, no!" She immediately put the two metal containers down and edged herself flush against me. "I didn't explain, it's my fault. Go and grab a stool, and that pen and paper on the far table." She pointed to the front of the room.

I made my way around to grab the three objects then briskly walked back, propping myself up beside her, but out of the way. She cracked her knuckles, back and neck then turned to smile at me again.

I couldn't help but smile in return. It was contaigeous, even for me.

"Make notes, Mr. Strife!"

* * *

"Shiva... Bahamut... Hades... Oh wow! Even Mog's here!" Yuffie squealed as she rolled hundreds of coloured orbs around the floor. "Well, I need to give them back to Cloud." She poked her bottom lip, looking up at the ceiling. "But since I found them, I owe myself at least one!"

She was in her element; poking her way through the field of crimson balls to her left, she could feel the power within each one as she tried to make her decision.

"Mmm... Not Bahamut." She shook her head, bad memories there.

She poked some more.

"One of the fliers would be handy though!" She poked another ball and cringed. "Not Ramuh, he's grumpy. An animal!" She weighed them one by one in her hands, shaking her head at each one as they rolled off towards the bunch of Materia dubbed _"crap"_.

Her eyes lit up, she knew this one was just _perfect_.

"Phoenix!"

A knock at the door distracted her. Hopping onto her feet, she slipped the fiery orb into her pocket and ran to see who could be knocking. She yanked open the front door and looked around before finally looking down.

"Afternoon, Yuffie." Nanaki nodded at her. Harcos just meowed.

"Reddy! Harky!" She threw herself on her knees and gave them both a good, hard tummy scratch.

His back leg started twitching. This was always so embarassing for him, but _man_ did he enjoy it. A few minutes passed, Nanaki's eyes rolling with pleasure the whole time, before she finally spoke again.

"I'm being so rude!" She laughed. "What's up, Reddy?"

"It's Nanaki."

"Yeah. So, what are you here for, Reddy?"

He sighed, this girl was impossible. "You asked me to come."

She pressed a finger against her lips, eyebrows curling in thought before finally realising. "Ah, yeah! Hold on here for a sec."

She ran back into the house. Nanaki tilted his head to look at his son, who was now licking and biting at his mane.

"Here!"

He turned back to the girl, barely having time to utter a word as she slipped a shouldersack over his neck. The black bag dangled close to the floor. "What is this?"

"Well, I have to go to work soon and I don't have time to take this over to Tifa and Spike. I wanted you to do it for me! You're faster than me anyway, and it's not like you have anything better to do!"

Normally he'd protest, but in all honesty it felt good to be out and about again. He could scale houses and ride the rooftops to avoid undue attention from townsfolk; the wind felt great along his stomach. "I'll do it, but just one question."

She tilted her head; arms folded. "Hmm?"

"What, exactly, am I carrying?" He eyed her with suspicion. It was hard _not_ to be suspicious of her.

Yuffie couldn't help but blink and feign surprise. "It's just some Materia from the old days! All that stuff is what Spike bought and found."

When his expression didn't change, she continued. "What's that look for? I'm being nice! I could've just run away with it all!"

She had a point. "I assume that it's all in here, yes?" His eyes bored holes in hers.

Ohboyohboyohboy. She bit her cheeks. "Yep!"

"Then there's no problem. I'll take it there now." He turned and began to walk out of the small yard.

"Reddy, wait up!" She hopped after him.

"Hmm?"

"Take this." She yanked a wooden hand on a stick from her back pocket.

He blinked; utterly confused. "What is that?"

"It's a tummy scratcher!" She poked it in his face. "Well, it's really for showering or something... but I figured you could hold it with your mouth and give your tummy a good work over when I'm not around!" She beamed with pride over her thoughtfulness.

"Thank you, Yuffie..." He couldn't even protest as she shoved it in an open corner of the bag.

"Seeya Reddy, Harky!" She belted down the street and disappeared into an alleyway.

"Goodbye, Yuffie." He muttered.

Moments later he had scaled Yuffie's modest Bungalow and began hopping building to building. The 7th Heaven wasn't far at all, he didn't quite understand why Yuffie had asked him to deliver this. He shook his head. It didn't matter, the bar was his destination anyway. Tifa had told him they were closing for the weekend, so he'd be able to stay downstairs and sample some new food.

"Tifa's cooking is delicious," he whispered to himself.

After hopping the large gap past the final building, he slowed himself and looked down over the edge, checking for activity. The road was clear, so he jumped down and stalked to the front door.

Thankfully, he was quickly noticed by Tifa. He strained his eyesight, was that... Cloud, in a white hat?

The glass door swung open, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Nanaki, Harcos!" She leant down and gave them both a stroke on the head before standing to the side. "Come in, come in. Plenty of food to taste!"

He did as he was instructed and stepped into the bar; almost swooning at the smell of meat, vegetables and spices. Lifting his head once more, he looked up to Cloud who seemed to be... cooking? "Hello, Cloud."

He snapped his head up and punched his hat off before giving them a brief wave. "Hey guys."

"I've been teaching Cloud how to cook, it took a few hours but he's finally getting the hang of it!" Tifa quickly shuffled by them and around to the bar.

Cloud stared at her. "It only took so long because you weren't explaining things properly," he attested.

She waved his comment off. "Either way, you've got it now." She spun on the barstool and pointed at the floor beside her. "I know you can't sit in a chair, so we took the tops off of a couple of tables."

Nanaki looked down, sure enough there were the tabletops. "Thank you." He lowered his head and instructed Harcos to get down. He then bowed his head, lowering the bag to the floor before shaking the strap off.

The young pup quickly complied and hopped to the floor then bounded over to Tifa; staring up with wide eyes that begged for a scratch.

"Aww..." She couldn't help her girly side showing through and dropped to her feet, then her knees and fussed the little feline.

"This is yours, Cloud. Yuffie asked me to stop by and give it to you." He placed a paw on the bag.

Cloud leant over the counter and looked down with a frown. "What is it?" he questioned.

Nanaki laid down on the floor beside the table. "Yuffie said it was all of your Materia, she didn't explain how she had gotten it, though."

Cloud's eyes widened. "I guess I should thank her." He scratched his neck.

The sound of footsteps, followed by what could be aptly described as an earthquake came from the staircase. "Nanaki!" Marlene and Denzel yelled, bolting into the bar with smiles.

He attempted to smile, then nodded. "Hello you two, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks!" Denzel exclaimed.

"I'm fine too, thank you for asking!" Marlene grinned up at Denzel. "You have to be more polite!"

The young boy slumped his shoulders, shaking his head. "Sorry, Nanaki."

He just laughed in response. Harcos, however, meowed at the two, begging for more attention. The children gasped as they ran up to him and the pup purred with delight as they showered him with strokes, cuddles and scratches.

Tifa threw Cloud a pointed stare, nodding her head at their guests.

He picked up on it and nodded before clearing his throat. "Uh... Would you like anything to drink?" He looked back at her for approval. She just laughed.

The older feline had picked up on Tifa's intent and decided to test Cloud's newfound 'abilities'. "Oh, yes please. Is there anything you'd suggest?"

"We've got beer, wine, spirits, water, lemonade, coke..." He listed off anything he could think of.

"No. No, no, no." Tifa hopped up. "When a customer asks what you'd suggest, you think of something that would compliment their meal."

"...Right," he stated; his voice holding a questioning tone.

Tifa put her hands on her hips. "So, what are we cooking?"

He responded instantly. "Steak and fries with peppercorn sauce."

"Okay, now what would you drink with that?"

He shrugged. "Ale?"

She smiled again. "There you go."

His brows twisted into one hell of a confused expression. "That's it?"

"That's it!"

"Okay." He cleared his throat again, straightening his shoulders before turning back to his friend. "I'd suggest the ale."

"Sounds good," Nanaki replied.

Cloud quickly grabbed a bottle of ale from the shelf beneath the bar and popped the top; pouring it into a bowl, he walked around and placed it on the table.

Tifa continued with the sauce while Cloud fried up more steaks. He was beginning to enjoy this now that he was getting the hang of it. At least he wasn't confused anymore and that _had _to be a good thing.

"Nanaki..." Marlene toyed with her fingers. "How come Harcos can't talk yet?"

"Yeah and where's Lynnea?" Denzel added then giggled as the pup leant up for a scratch and fell onto his back.

The older feline took a slurp of his bitter drink, then turned his head to Marlene. "His vocal chords haven't developed yet, though it shouldn't take too much longer. I was only five months old when I learned to speak." He then turned to Denzel. "Lynnea's visiting Cosmo Canyon at the moment. There has been some trouble with the observatory and we weren't prepared to take Harcos on the journey just yet."

"Ohhh..." They both nodded and resumed petting their charge.

A sharp clattering of metal caught everyone's attention. "Alright all, grub's up." Cloud called out.

Tifa just sighed and rubbed her forehead; she'd have to teach him etiquette later.

* * *

I kicked my boots off and yanked my soiled shirt over my head before throwing it into the laundry hamper. Tifa had been right about these clothes. I'd smell 100 times worse if I was wearing my sweater and cargo's. Not to mention burning up; the bar was hot, the griddle was hot, everything was hot. No wonder I smell like shit.

Tifa had offered me the shower first, but I declined. She didn't smell any better than me, but she'd spent all day teaching me. That couldn't have been an easy task, I focused more on her than what she was saying. So in the end, it was the least I could do. She did, however, ask me if I wanted to join her, and with that grin, it was hard to turn her down. Still, we needed to wash and that was the last thing that would happen if we shared again.

I sat myself down on the end of the bed and picked up the bag Nanaki had brought along. I hadn't had the time to check it out before and it seemed as good a time as any.

After pulling the stubborn zip open, I slipped a hand inside and pulled out a random Materia. I couldn't help but smirk at the blue orb. We used to master these things in no time then sell them off for a huge profit. I threw it into the air and caught it. The sound of a door opening in the background held my attention for a moment as I slipped the blue orb back into the bag. I pulled another out. This one wiped the smirk off of my face.

"Bahamut..." I lifted it out of the bag, allowing it to slip carelessly to the floor. My thumb ran across its smooth, glassy surface. I felt my stomach turn as I stared into its crimson center. "I spent so long training you..." I squeezed it in a tight fist. "Traitor."

"It's not his fault," Tifa scolded. I snapped my head up as she stepped down into our room; carefully she closed the door behind her with one hand, the other holding her towel up.

I looked back down to the orb, rolling it between my fingers. "I know, but it's still hard to look at him," I admitted.

She lowered herself beside me on the bed, barely moving the thick mattress. "They're gone, Cloud. He's yours again." One of her hands reached up and massaged the back of my neck.

It was hard to say much, if anything. Bahamut had always been my favourite. It was so hard to see him... and then having to... I shook my head of the thoughts, my stomach lurched again. "Sorry, I know."

I heard her sigh and lean her head on my shoulder. "You can tell me what you're thinking, you know," she whispered.

I turned my head to face her, blinking. "I was just thinking... It was hard to see him, like that. He would always help us, lend us strength. Then he's up in the sky, murdering innocent people."

She nudged me. Hard. "That was _their_ fault. He was being controlled by them, it wasn't his decision," she stated.

She was right, of course, but I knew that. "It's still not easy to think about."

Tifa hummed, like she always did when she was thinking something I wouldn't. Suddenly, she hopped up and went over to the wardrobe, grabbing a hanger with my favourite clothes and flinging them at me before grabbing her own. I raised an eyebrow. "Tifa?"

"Get dressed," she ordered. I looked down at my clothes, then back at her.

"Why?"

"We're going for a drive." She was already pulling on her underwear. I tried not to stare at her and, instead, focus on what she was saying.

"Where are we going?"

Her smile had me intrigued. "Somewhere empty, with no-one around."

I thought for a few moments. Surely she didn't mean... "You want to summon him?"

She shook her head as she buttoned up her jeans. "No. You're going to summon him." She laughed. "When did you ever let me use that Materia?"

I ignored her last comment and stood up to grab a pair of socks from the dresser beside the bed and sat down again, pulling them on. "Why?" I asked.

Tifa gave me a strange look. "Because then you'll be able to relax and get some sleep. Otherwise, you'll just mull it over all night long and keep me awake with your tossing and turning."

"I wouldn't stay awake thinking about it," I argued.

She sighed while pulling on her gloves. "Yes, Cloud, you would. You always do when there's something bothering you." Her voice sounded almost... upset? "I don't like it that you worry about things. I'll be there with you, so what's there to worry about?"

"Nothing." She had a point. I guess I didn't sleep much when I was thinking over something, but I certainly didn't toss and turn... much.

We finished up getting dressed and made our way into the living room. Harcos and Nanaki were sprawled out on the sofa. The younger of the two was sleeping between his father's front paws, Nanaki was watching the TV.

"Nanaki, we're going out for a drive. Would you mind looking after Denzel and Marlene? They're asleep, but just in case they wake up, we'd like someone here," Tifa asked.

He nodded. "Of course I don't mind, they'll be safe with me here."

Tifa smiled and thanked him before pushing me down the hallway to the stairs.

Within minutes we were on Fenrir and bolting down the highway that led to Kalm. The fresh air was a welcome change to the hot humidity in the kitchen. It reminded me of driving for hours. I started to feel doubt in my agreement to work at the bar, at least until Tifa wrapped her arms around my chest and pulled herself into me. She didn't say anything, not that I would've been able to hear her anyway. I smiled, she quickly reminded me of why I made that choice in the first place.

We drove for at least ten minutes, until the sight of Midgar behind us disappeared over numerous hills and we were faced with mountainous terrain. Pulling off the highway, we drove another few minutes across the grassland before finally coming to stop in a wide, open space. I turned the engine off and pulled my goggles down to my neck.

Tifa hopped off first and stretched her lithe arms, long legs and slim neck. I'd gathered enough experience riding that I didn't get the cramps and pains.

She stalked over to me and immediately began reading my face, as she always did when trying to get something out of me.

"Ready?" I asked. She nodded and spun on her heels, backing up to the bike. I opened up the right wing and pulled out Tsurugi, then hopped off the bike and walked a few steps in front of her. Luckily I'd thought to have it crafted with slots for materia in the hilt. I pushed the red orb into the recession and lifted the weighty blade.

I closed my eyes and felt the string of unpronouncable Ancient words fill my mind. I felt a warmth, a sense of companionship within myself before the mental image of Bahamut appeared. I snapped my eyes open and swung the sword in a wide arc; circular runes surrounded the length of the blade before firing into the sky. A shot of bright, white energy pierced them all before disappearing into the clouds.

Within moments, his figure began to form. I felt my pulse speed up as strings of white energy intertwined, shaping out his large, winged body. The swirls came together like a web before fully filling in his shape, his colours were hard to make out in the darkness. He swooped through the air, his normally deep roar sounded hollow in the openness of the area. He continued to fly lower, and lower, until I could feel the beating of his wings through the wind. Finally, he landed before me.

My stomach lurched again, he was hard to look at. "You're... different," I thought. It wasn't necessary to speak to him, he could tell what I was thinking.

He appeared a cross between his original form and the one seen in Midgar. It was hard to determine what had changed and what hadn't in the low lighting, but he was certainly different.

"The taint of evil; my mind is unaffected."

His deep voice echoed in my mind. I turned my head to Tifa who had sat down on the grass, her legs crossed and leant back on her hands; watching on with a smile.

_Of course_. I shook my head, _she can't hear him_. I turned back, setting my gaze on his deep, amber eyes. "Sorry for calling you out like this, there's nothing to fight."

"You worried that I am not sane. That I had turned."

"Yes."

"You believed I had a hand in that massacre."

I frowned. "I didn't."

"Why did you summon me, then."

It was strange, he was asking questions but they came across as statements.

"I felt a bond with you, like you were a part of me. Then, to see you in Midgar that day... It terrified me."

What was the point in lying?

"A summon by one is not for all. My existence is synonymous with others. Each bound to their summoner. The more instances of myself, the more our appearances amalgamate."

"It wasn't you that day."

He said nothing, didn't move. He didn't have to. That eased my mind more than I could explain. "Thanks, Bahamut." I felt a small smile tug at the edges of my lips.

Within seconds, his form had exploded in a cloud of white specks and flowed back to my sword before dissipating. The crimson Materia lost its glow. "I'll keep you in here, if you don't mind," I spoke to him.

He didn't reply, of course. Bastard was less talkative than me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "How did it go?" Tifa asked softly before leaning into my back.

All I could do was smile and shake my head. I looked up to the sky and sucked in a deep breath, slowly releasing it through my nose.

"It went well." I finally responded. She squeezed my shoulder and spun me around.

"Glad to hear it!" She gave me a small kiss on the cheek and let out a short, quiet laugh.

She didn't ask what had happened, what he'd said, what I'd said. All she could see was the giant before us and me, staring at each other. I was glad, though. Tifa only interfered with things if she thought she needed to. To be completely honest, that was most of the time; the fact that she didn't this time, however, made me feel that much better about the whole thing.

"Let's go home," I said.

I replaced my sword in the bike, closed the wing and started the engine before we both hopped on. I pulled my goggles back over my eyes and turned the throttle. Fenrir roared, the back tyres shooting dirt and grass into the air as we spun in a half-circle.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Stop talking and drive, Cloud." She reached around my waist again, pulling herself into me.

I love how she demands things. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please read and review. This is a new story and my second attempt at uploading, I'd appreciate comments, crit and/or statements that people are actually reading.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, next chapter up very soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations. Reader discretion advised!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

* * *

Nanaki stretched his slim, powerful legs; shaking his head, he hoped to throw away fatigue and start his day well for a change. It wasn't easy for him without Lynnea around.

Six months had passed since we moved to the outskirts of EDGE. Over that time, we had become quite accustomed to living in a human enviroment.

It had been an awkward transition, but we had managed. Our house, as we call it, is really more of a large garage. There are two, small rooms. One with a fridge, telephone and television. The other a makeshift bedroom. Cloud and Tifa had helped to remove the bed and clothes storage, leaving just the mattresses and pillows on the floor.

This is more than sufficent for our needs. As advanced as we are mentally, physically we simply do not have the same needs as humans.

For that reason, life is easier here for us with friends all so close by. Tifa cooks for us, Yuffie happily purchases anything we might need... and Cloud, well Cloud would do anything to help out. As stoic as he seems, he is a kindhearted man.

Adjusting to living in a human home was interesting, to say the least. My paws had become somewhat used to performing the task of hands. I could open the fridge, doors and packages with a little help from my mouth. Some things did require some assistance. For example, to use the phone I would have to hold a pencil with my teeth to push the buttons.

Which I did, and it rang... and rang...and ra- "Lynnea here, who is calling?"

I sighed with relief. "It is me."

She sighed in much the same way. "It's good to hear from you, my love. How are you and our son?"

"We are doing well. Tifa has been taking good care of us and Harcos has made friends with a small human child."

"A human child?" She sounded confused, so I recounted yesterday's story.

"My, my. That is good to hear! News spreads quickly there, it shouldn't be long before we are accepted."

I hadn't thought of that; she was right, as usual. "Yes. I must go, I need to drop Harcos off with Cloud before heading to work. It is good to hear from you again."

"You as well, my love. Please take care and tell Harcos that I love him."

"I will. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, darling."

The only way I could use the phone was to place it on the floor and lie with my head on it. So, I stood up, picked the handset up in my mouth and placed it on the dock.

Harcos was sleeping on a pillow in the bedroom. It was still early in the day and I didn't wish to wake him, but I had no choice.

I walked into the room and nudged his head with my nose. He stirred, stretching his paws and yawning. I always feel a huge sense of pride when I look at him. My son. It was still strange to think of myself as a father, despite my age.

He looked up at me with tired eyes and rolled onto his back, paws in the air. I licked his exposed belly and nudged his legs, he meowed at me and grabbed my ears. Apparently it was time to play, but unfortunately, we had to leave.

"Harcos, we have to leave. Hurry onto my back." I spoke quietly. If he hurried, he could get a few more minutes of sleep as we travelled to the 7th Heaven. Tifa and Cloud would take care of Harcos while I was at work.

Work consisted of deliveries. I would gather packages, boxes and letters and have them put in a specially made sling for my back. Thanks to my large frame, it was very long and had two large compartments that dangled either side of me. Customers would lift the pouches and retrieve their mail, it was quite convienient. I would finish at around two or three in the afternoon, then Tifa would list what groceries she needed and I would do one or two round trips to the market. I didn't accept a wage as she fed us and took care of Harcos. That was far more than enough.

In my reviere, I failed to notice that Harcos had already laid out on my back, fast asleep.

I made my way out of the house through a panel in the bedroom wall. It had been built to swing both ways, allowing entrance and exit. It's also inconspicuous, not that it really matters since this area of town is rather quiet and there is nothing in our home worth stealing.

I looked up into the morning sky. The sun beamed just above the horizon and there were no clouds in sight.

"It's going to be a good day."

* * *

_Tifa stood in front of the bed, holding her towel above her chest._

_Cloud stared with disbelief. "You said what there wouldn't be any of that until I'd finished learning," he stated. Unsure of whether or not she was teasing him; his heart pounded against his chest in the hope that she wasn't. _

_She swiveled on her heels, looking down at him with a pout. "Well you've been learning so fast, I thought I'd give you an incentive!"_

_He blinked. "An incentive?" _

_She nodded , twirling several strands of hair around her index finger. "Yeah..." She fluttered her eyelids, her own pulse was speeding up as she stared at his naked, chisled chest; arms that showed years of training were nestling his head in a pillow. "Well..." She released the towel, letting it pool around her feet before placing her hands on the bed and slowly, pointedly crawling over him, swaying her hips side to side. Her movements came to a stop, lips only inches away from his as she stared into his glowing eyes. She swallowed a lump in her throat as he ran his gaze over her, groping her with his mind. "We could just pretend I didn't say anything."_

_His lungs were denied oxygen as she ran her tongue slowly, painfully along his lips. His heart wasn't the only part of his anatomy that thrummed with excitement._

"_Y-yeah, let's pretend you d-didn't say anything," he practically squeaked._

_...  
_

Tifa's stomach twinged with excitement, that morning had been incredible. Never again was she going to abstain for the sake of his attention. He worked so much... _harder, _when he was satisfied.

She glanced to the clock on the wall. _5:48pm. _Time really had flown by today. Between recieving the last two boxes she had ordered, setting up the second griddle, installing the extra dishwasher and hanging the extractor fan, they barely had time to practice any cooking at all.

She shrugged and moved back to the bar, making sure everything was turned off. If Cloud weren't here, she would never had gotten all of that done. Besides, he had cooked them an omelette each for breakfast. Nice and fluffy. "Just like his hair."

She laughed at her own joke and threw the cleaning rag into the sink.

Then it hit her.

She blinked and looked around. "It's too quiet."

It wasn't normal for the house to be quiet on a weekend. She walked to the staircase and slowly ascended, listening for any sign of movement, or voices, or anything. "What are they doing?"

"_Eeeek!"_

Tifa spun around, that was Marlene. She bolted down the stairs and turned left into the storage room; throwing open the back door, she found the cause of their silence and subsequent scream.

Marlene ran up to Tifa and grabbed onto her arm, pointing over at Cloud. "We were watching Cloud sharpen his swords and he cut his hand!"

I had gone from terror, to relief, to fear within the space of ten seconds. He looked stoic as usual, but his eyes gave his pain away. A tightened fist couldn't contain a constant trickle of blood.

"Marlene, go and get the first aid kit. Denzel, get a clean towel." They disappeared without saying a word and I ran over to him, sitting on the crate next to his.

"Let me see," I said. Placing my hands gently over his injured one.

He looked up at me as if I had two heads. "Tifa, this is nothing."

"I wasn't asking, Cloud." I could feel my heart racing. It couldn't have been a deep wound, or even a dangerous one, yet I worried so much when he was hurt. It made it that much harder to bear when he resisted help.

It took several seconds, their eyes staring into each others before, finally, he relented and opened his fist.

Tifa looked down at the gash that ran the width of his palm. It wasn't deep at all, but it had cut through numerous veins, hence the flow of blood. She sighed and shook her head. "You make Marlene and Denzel worry so much."

She hadn't noticed just how feeble her words had come out until Cloud looked up at her, his eyes mirroring the guilt he felt.

"Sorry, I should've been more careful," he mumbled.

She gently closed his fist again and wrapped her hands around it, holding it tight. "Yes, you should have. They were both watching, you must have frightened them half to death," she chided.

He dipped and shook his head. "Sorry."

Tifa squeezed his hand, her arms trembling. "You know how much they care about you. They worry when you disappear for more than a few hours, let alone when you get hurt."

He bit back the urge to say anything. No matter what he might have said, she was right and he knew it.

She bit her cheek. "They worry when you don't call to say you're on the way home."

Her hands tightened on his fist. "How you might not be here to lie with them in bed at night..." She sniffed and shook her head. "That one day you'll be gone forever and they... they'll never be able to tell you how much they love you again... That they're scared everyday that they'll have to live without you..."

Warm tears dripped onto his tense fingers.

"I've thought you were dead so many times." She sniffed. "I can't take it, Cloud..."

He swallowed back the emotions that tugged painfully in his chest. Her fears hurt him beyond words, so he found it hard to imagine how much they hurt _her_. He slid closer and wrapped his good arm around her back. Tifa buried her face in his chest, sobbing quietly to herself. Her mute cries and voiceless wails made his spine shudder.

Marlene and Denzel ran back into the yard and immediately stopped in their tracks. Neither of them said a word as they looked over at Tifa's shaking, hunched form.

Cloud gave them a small nod, allowing them over. Within seconds they had run over and dropped the first aid gear next to Tifa, then wrapped their arms around her.

She seemed semi-conscious of their presence, but it wasn't enough to stop her tears from falling. These feelings of fear had been plaguing her since he had agreed to stop deliveries. The fear that she had stolen him from his one joy, that he would resent her for it and leave. Or get hurt from looking for fights to give him the excitement he craved; that he would decide that being with her, Marlene and Denzel wasn't what he wanted at all. Part of her knew it was silly, but the other part clearly didn't.

"Tifa will be okay." He gave her shoulder a brief, firm squeeze. "Could you both go inside and call Nanaki? I need him to come over for a while." He looked between them both with tired, pleading eyes.

While the two children loved nothing more than the company of their carers, this situation was a little too upsetting and hard for them to understand. Denzel nodded and gave Tifa a kiss on the cheek, wishing her well before taking hold of Marlene's shoulders and walking the unusually quiet girl back into the house.

Cloud rocked her back and forth for a long while. The sky had turned from a pale orange to a dark blue before he'd realised just how much time had passed. He didn't know what to say, what to do, so he just held her. Deep down, he hoped it would be enough.

Tifa's quiet cries gradually slowed as she rubbed her face against his chest. She tilted her head to the left and placed a weak kiss on his neck; her tear stained cheeks felt like they seared against his already hot skin.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud." Her voice cracked and she stifled a sniff. After giving his neck one more kiss, she looked down at their hands and carefully pried open his tight fist.

"You're still in a state, let me fix you up." She let go of his hand and leant down to pick up the towel and first aid box.

He still sat there, lost for words. This was so far removed from any other situation he'd been in; it made him feel hopeless, useless, that he couldn't help her.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence as Tifa soaked up the excess blood and bandaged his hand.

Another minute passed, just staring at the hand she was stroking. Her eyes burned with shed and unshed tears, lips raw for biting into them and her cheeks stinging from friction against his skin.

"Is there a problem, Cloud? I got here as fast as I could," Nanaki called out.

Tifa immediately turned her head away, forgoing her usual greeting.

Cloud felt relief at the sight of the warrior. "Thanks for coming, Nanaki. I wanted to know if you could watch Marlene and Denzel again for a little while, I need to take Tifa somewhere."

Nanaki nodded. "Of course, whether I'm sat at home or sat here, it makes no difference to me. They are good children."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Cloud sighed and nodded once more as the warrior made his way into the house.

The door clicked shut and Tifa slowly turned back to him, but she still wouldn't lift her head.

"Let's go for a drive."

Tifa nodded. "I could use the air." She swallowed and bit her bottom lip.

"Tifa... we're already outside."

She attempted to smile, but it just caused her lip to shudder between her teeth. She sniffed once more and blew out a rush of air, wiping furiously at her eyes.

Cloud reached up and grabbed hold of her wrists. "Don't... don't try to hide it!" he yelled. She turned her gaze up to meet his. His heart thrummed in his chest. The sight of her swollen, red eyes; tear-stained cheeks and trembling lips was too much to bear. "I... I didn't decide to stay so you could punish yourself!"

She stared at him with disbelief, his voice sounded so pained, almost tortured.

He attempted to reign in his emotions and took a deep breath, lowering his voice. "I'm not going to run anywhere. I decided to stay because it's what I want." He could almost see the reflection of his pathetic face in her wide eyes. "So... please. Don't do this to yourself."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as he spoke. Her eyes still focused on him, lips unmoving. "I..." Words escaped her. The pale moon reflected in his tormented, blue eyes. His jaw was tightly clenched and his hands shook around her wrists.

She pushed her arms through his hold and grabbed his neck, pulling him into a lip-crushing kiss.

"I'm sorry," she muttered between kisses. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeated it like a mantra, using her lips to emphasize her feelings.

They finally parted minutes later, panting for breath. A cool breeze passed over them as their fingers ran lazy circles on each other's bodies.

"I'm shouldn't have doubted you," Tifa whispered.

"I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"Well, I'm glad that you did."

He frowned. "I don't understand."

She smiled. "Because it shows me how you're feeling... inside." She leant forward and kissed his chin.

"I'll keep that in mind." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Just don't hide those things from me," he added as a mutter.

"Well, it's my turn to make a promise then. No more hiding things." She tilted her head in that typical, girly fashion she had somehow made her own. It made him feel much better.

They spent the next few minutes kissing, making small talk and laughing. The dispersion of tension in the air was tangible. Tifa pulled away from his lips and leant to her left, looking over his shoulder towards the house, then back at him with a cheeky grin.

His lips curled into a small smile. "What?"

"Well..." She slipped off of her crate and onto his lap, pressing her torso firmly against him. They both let out a quiet sigh. "Since Nanaki is looking after Denzel and Marlene, and we were going to go on a bike ride..."

He waited with interest as she nibbled on her lip and blushed.

"Why don't we drive back to that open, empty, silent field, miles away from anyone?"

It took him a few moments to register her meaning, after which his eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"Mmm hmm." She fiddled with the buckle of his jeans.

"I need to go and get a shirt."

She grabbed him by the belt and pulled her crotch firmly against his. "I can't wait that long... you don't want to make me wait... do you?"

Words escaped him and his jeans were becoming painfully restrictive. "Fuck the shirt," he grumbled.

Tifa's eyes widened as she parted her lips. "Cloud Strife, what did you just say?"

He just threw her a devious smirk.

"Mmm... we need to go. Now." She flicked his cheek with her tongue and hopped off of his lap.

Cloud was on the bike before she could get halfway there.

* * *

**Please read and review. I'm not going to hold this thing hostage, or anything ridiculous like that, but it seems rather pointless uploading new chapters if no-one seems to be getting anything out of it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or compromising situations. Heheheh.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

* * *

7th Heaven

The Next Morning

* * *

"Tired..." Cloud swept loose strands of hair from his face as he plodded through the hallway. He and Tifa hadn't gotten home until well after two in the morning. He ached from lying on the uneven grassy ground for hours, not to mention the cuts and bruises on his back. He flicked on the coffee machine and stared at the glass jug, waiting impatiently for it to fill. A rough yawn tore through his lungs, causing his entire body to shudder. Waking up at 6am wasn't nice, not for the morning after _that_ night, anyway.

He filled a mug with the soothing black liquid and made his way into the bathroom. With lethargic motions, he brushed his teeth, washed his face and attempted to sort out his mop of hair.

_-knock knock-_

He frowned at the noise and made no effort to rush to the front door.

_-knock knock knock-_

Growling, he tiptoed down the stairs and jogged through the bar to unlock the door. Outside stood Nanaki and Harcos.

He fought back another yawn. "Isn't it a little early?"

"I apologize. There is an emergency at Cosmo Canyon and I must return, can you please take care of Harcos while I am gone?" Nanaki rushed his words, clearly eager to get moving.

Cloud frowned and reached for his pockets. _Why would I have my keys in my pajama pants..._ "I'll drive you, give me two minutes."

He reached down and picked up Harcos. The pup rested on his forearm as Cloud bolted up the stairs, down the hallway and into the bedroom. He carefully laid the sleepy pup on the bed beside a sleeping Tifa, and proceeded to grab his biking clothes, throwing them on in under a minute. As he stuffed a foot into a boot, he shook at Tifa's legs. "Tifa, wake up."

She stirred slightly and rolled over; reaching for Cloud, she grabbed onto Harcos and pulled the pup into a tight bear hug.

"Tifa!"

Her eyes shot open and she sat straight up. "Cloud?" She watched as he threw articles of clothing around, searching for something. Realizing that Harcos was still in her arms, she carefully laid him down on her lap. "What's going on, why are you dressed?"

"There's some emergency going down at Cosmo Canyon. I'm driving Nanaki there." He threw his black jeans to the side with a grunt and found his second boot. He yanked it on and ran towards the door, grabbing his keys from the dresser on the way. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Wait!" Needing to say or do something quickly, she jumped out of bed and ran over to block his path. "Take me with you."

"Who's gonna watch Marlene and Denz?" he countered. There was no time for this. Cloud knew that if Nanaki was this worked up, it had to be something serious.

Tifa bit at her lip, her worries were surfacing again. "Just be careful, okay?" Her fists grappled the collar of his turtleneck and yanked hard at the fabric. "I'm warning you, don't do anything stupid." She pulled him down giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Cloud reached around and gave her a brief, one armed squeeze before leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "I promise. I'll be home as soon as I can." He gave her one last look and kiss before bolting out of the door.

Seconds later, he ran back to the doorway and leaned against it with his hand. "Tell Marlene and Denzel not to worry, I'll be home soon."

They stood perfectly still. Tifa's face showing the fear she felt, his showing a silent apology. "I don't want you to worry, Tifa. I'll be fine."

And with that, he was gone. She briefly licked her lips and ran to the bedroom window, watching as the back door swung open. Cloud leapt onto Fenrir and started the engine. Nanaki bolted around the corner and leapt onto the back of the bike, digging his claws into the bottom of the seat.

Cloud pulled on his goggles, looked up at the bedroom and gave Tifa a final wave. The bike roared again, its tires kicking up dust and dirt from the yard as they took off down the street. The sounds of Fenrir eventually disappeared, along with Tifa's composure.

She worried at her bottom lip, wringing her hands. With a sigh, she felt angry and comforted at the same time. Angry that he had left without telling her what was really going on, and comforted that he made that promise.

With a determined nod, she knew she had to trust him. If Cloud said something, he meant it. That much she was always certain of. She heard a quiet mewl; turning to the bed, she couldn't help but smile. Harcos was sat at the end, looking up at her with half-lidded eyes.

Carefully, she sat beside the small pup and ran her fingers in circles on the back of his neck.

"It's okay, your papa will be home soon."

* * *

Road to Junon

8:42am

* * *

Neither of them had said a word to each other, the sound of Fenrir's roaring engine drowned out any and all other noises.

Cloud's hand ached as he gripped the handles. Each time he spun the throttle, he felt a trickle of blood escape the wound. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as snow began to fall. At this rate, he knew they wouldn't reach Cosmo Canyon before nightfall.

His turtleneck began to vibrate against his chest. Reaching for his pocket, he lifted out his phone. Immediately he felt a sense of relief. Pulling over as quickly as possible, he turned off the ignition and answered the call.

"Cid. Get to Junon, now."

"_Who the fuck d'ya think you're talkin' to, kid?" _He barked in reply.

"There's trouble at Cosmo Canyon, Fenrir is going to take too long to get there."

"_Trouble? What kinda trouble?"_

Cloud clenched his teeth. "Just get your ass there now!"

"_Psh, fine. But you're payin' for that engine part I was gonna order when this is over, you little shit!"_

"Whatever."

"_Fuckin' kids these days..."_

_-click-_

"What was that?" Nanaki questioned.

"Cid's coming with the Shera, we're gonna meet him at Junon."

* * *

Rocket Town

8:56am

* * *

Cid took long strides alongside a line of engineers and flight attendants. Smoke cascaded from his nose as he threw the spent cigarette to the ground.

"'aight you pansies! You got five minutes to get this beaut' ready to move!" He roared. "I don't wanna hear no bitchin'. If it ain't movin', you all lookin' for new jobs." He stood in front of a sweating engineer, leaning forward until his face was mere centimeters away from the others. "You listenin' to me?"

"Yes, sir!" They yelled in response.

The team scattered, bolting around the ship and performing brief safety procedures. Cid stomped over to Shera, who, by all accounts, looked a little worried.

"Cid... I don't know what's going on, but be careful." She licked her lips.

The pilot just grinned and winked. "Always am, babe."

* * *

7th Heaven

12:10pm

* * *

Denzel and Marlene were sat in the living room, playing with Harcos and enjoying their day off from school.

Of course, this worried Tifa even more. School was only canceled if there was a snowstorm. Cloud was racing to Junon as fast as he could. She couldn't even focus enough to open the bar, not that anyone would come in this weather, anyway. So, she sat on a stool in the bar, nursing a large mug of tea and tapping her fingernails on the counter. Her mobile phone and the landline phone were laid out in front of her, prepared to answer at a moment's notice.

"He'll phone when he gets to Junon," he mumbled to herself. Her grip tightened on the hot mug.

A quiet bang upstairs caught her attention. She put the drink down and grabbed the phones, slipping each into a pocket before jogging upstairs.

"What's going on up here?" she questioned; eyes scanning the room. Denzel was sprawled out on his back, laughing, with Harcos mercilessly licking his face.

Tifa couldn't help but smile.

"Harcos! Where's a good boooy?" Marlene spoke in a high-pitched, babying tone as she petted the cub's mane.

Tifa shook her head. "Marlene, Harcos is young, but he's not an animal. Remember, he can understand what you're saying."

Marlene looked down at the floor. "Sorry..."

The older woman stepped forward and crouched down, placing a hand on the girl's head. "It's okay! Just think of it this way, Harcos is a small Nanaki."

Marlene continued to pout for a few seconds before looking up with a smile and nodding.

Tifa stood back up and crossed her arms. She was beyond worried and becoming anxious. Cloud could have gotten to Junon and back by now on Fenrir, even in this weather. His phone had been out of service due to reception and he hadn't called from a payphone. Her stomach churned as she considered the possibilities.

"Tifa, could I please have a shower?" Denzel asked, now sitting on the floor.

"Hmm?" She turned to the young boy. "Oh, of course. just make sure to hold on to the handrail. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself," she instructed. Denzel nodded and ran to the bathroom.

"Are you okay, Marlene?" Tifa asked, kneeling down to the girl once more.

Marlene yawned and rubbed at her eyes. "When is Cloud coming home?"

Tifa sighed and reached a hand forward, brushing stray strands of hair behind the girl's ear. "He'll be home soon, don't worry. He had one more, very important delivery to make." It hadn't been a complete lie, but there was no way she could tell the young girl what was really going on. Partly because she herself was worried... partly because she didn't know what the hell was happening.

Her answer seemed to appease the generally inquisitive girl, who nodded. "Can I have a nap?"

Tifa tilted her head and smiled. "Sure you can."

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom where Tifa removed the girl's shoes and lifted her onto the bed. Once she made herself comfortable, the older woman pulled her bedspread up and over her before tucking the edges in.

"Sleep well, Marlene," she whispered and kissed her on the forehead. The young girl's soft breathing indicated that she had already drifted off. Quietly, she made her way back into the hallway, and once again, Harcos was sat there, watching her carefully.

She knelt down and lifted the pup under his front legs; holding him against her chest as she walked back down into the bar, she placed him gently on the bar as she sat back on her stool.

Several minutes passed. Tifa would occasionally take a sip of her tea and look up to the young feline. Each time, his eyes seemed to be staring into hers. It was fascinating, and a little unnerving.

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

The pup edged forward and licked her forearm.

"Is it bad?"

He rolled over, kicking at the air.

"If only you could talk..." She reached forward and rubbed the cub's soft stomach and chest; blinking slowly every now and again, her mind was focused purely on Cloud. She had never worried this much before, the fact that she didn't know what was happening didn't help matters.

Her pocket began vibrating. The mug of tea was thrown to the floor as she reached for her shorts. She yanked the black cellphone out, flicked it open and answered the call without checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"_Tifa? Yo! It's Cid. Yeah, so we got your spiky-ass lover up here at the moment, and he wanted me to sa- HEY!"_

She heard shuffling, muffled swearing and a loud clatter.

"_Tifa?"_

Her heart felt like it rose into her throat. "Cloud!"

"_I meant to call earlier but I couldn't get reception."_

"That's okay, it's okay. I don't mind. As long as you're safe."

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Cid picked us up on the Shera, we're flying to the Canyon now._"

Knowing he was flying rather than speeding down highways on a bike relieved a little tension. "Cloud, what on earth is going on?"

"_Hard to explain... Nanaki doesn't know all the details. The cave door in the Canyon was blown open and monsters are on the loose."_

"Cloud, please take care."

"_I will, it'll be no-"_

The shrill, automated voice confirmed her suspicion, phone service had been lost.

She cursed at the storm._  
_

* * *

Western continent

The Shera

* * *

Cloud flicked his phone shut and slid it into his pocket. He sighed. These situations always ended up going badly for him. He never won. If he helped his friends then he'd worry Tifa, Marlene and Denzel; if he didn't, then he wouldn't be able to rest knowing he wasn't there to support his friends.

"Got half a mind to kick your punk ass," Cid grumbled, rubbing his sore head. He lifted himself from the floor and stomped over to the flight controls. "How's she lookin'?"

The pilot looked over a number of dials, screens and buttons. "It's all looking good, sir. We should arrive in about ten minutes."

Cloud watched as Cid walked around the large cockpit, practically interrogating each member of his flight staff. He was a loud, angry man most of the time, but he seemed to treat his staff with respect.

He made his way out of the cockpit and into the large cabin area. Glancing around the room, he couldn't help but be impressed by the job Cid had done.

The area could have housed dozens of bikes like Fenrir. Floors were laid with varnished rosewood, the walls painted a dark shade of red. On the right was a bar that spanned half of the wall, each side had chairs bolted to the floor; stools were bolted in front of the bar itself. On the left hand side resided a number of beds for the staff. In the far left corner was a small set of stairs that led up to a second level with more beds for passengers.

He walked through to the far end and unlatched the door to the deck. Walking outside, he looked around and spotted Nanaki, sat on the left-hand side.

"Nanaki," he called out.

The red warrior turned his head, nodding at the man before turning back to look overboard.

Cloud walked over to the edge and turned, leaning back against the rails. "Did you get hold of Lynnea?"

He nodded. "She has taken the townspeople and barricaded everyone in Grandfather's observatory." The feline's eyes were open but he saw nothing. A few moments of silence passed. "I should have been there."

Cloud remained silent. Anything he could have said to comfort the warrior would have been hypocritical, and he knew it.

"I took it upon myself to protect the Canyon. I left in order to give my son a simpler life. What did I accomplish? People fear us, despite everything we have done." His head dipped towards the floor.

Staring at the warrior before him, Cloud slid against the rails until he was sat on the floor.

"Now my wife and the people of Cosmo Canyon are in danger, because I wasn't there." Nanaki slid down until he was laying on the floor, his head between his paws. "I have let everyone down," he mumbled.

Cloud tipped his head back and looked up to the sky. It was as if he were listening to his own inner monologue.

Several seconds passed, the two remained where they were, each lost in their own thoughts.

Maneuvering himself, Cloud slipped a hand into his cargo's leg pocket and pulled out a small, green orb. "Nanaki," he said.

The warrior barely moved his head in the man's direction.

"This is yours," he stated.

Nanaki turned his head fully, looking at Cloud with confusion.

"When we first met, this was yours." He placed the orb between the feline's front legs.

The orb shimmered.

"I figure... When I first met you, I thought you were some animal. But, over time you became one of my comrades, one of my friends." Cloud cleared his throat. "I can trust you, just like I can trust Tifa, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie..." He paused. "Hell, even Reeve," Cloud joked.

Nanaki regarded him carefully as he spoke.

"What I'm trying to say is, we all make mistakes and everyone can start over again."

Nanaki looked back down at the orb. Closing his eyes, he nudged the orb with his right leg. The orb turned an iridescent, pale green before being absorbed into his muscles. Looking back up, Nanaki nodded at Cloud. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

Observatory

* * *

People cried, yelled, argued and shoved each other around. Lynnea shook her head, knowing this was no good. There were far too many people in this small space.

"Everyone, please stay calm!" Lynnea practically roared. Silence immediately ensued. Once she was confident she had everyone's attention, she continued. "Nanaki and his friends will be here soon. Please be calm, what would Bugenhagen say if he were here now? Seeing all of his people arguing with each other at a time like this?"

The guilt in the air was tangible as people made their apologies to one another and tried to find somewhere to sit or stand in the cramped room.

Lynnea scaled the ladder to the top of the observatory and took a cursory glance out of the window. "No monsters," she muttered.

However, she knew it wasn't safe to leave. She would have to wait and try to keep everyone calm until help arrived.

A loud yell and a monstrous screech caused her to bolt back down the ladder and to the observatory's inner door. She could hear more yelling, explosions and demonic cries. "What on earth..."

There was a loud bang on the door, causing her and the room's occupants to jump back.

"Lynnea!"

She ran up to door. "Nanaki?"

"Tell the people that we're here, do not leave that room under any circumstances!"

"Be careful, my love!"

"I will!"

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

Inside the Canyon

* * *

"Motherfuckers are weak as shit!" Cid roared.

The monsters had seemingly all been dispensed of, though Nanaki was doubtful.

Cloud wiped his sword on his pants, bloodstains on his blade edge were notorious to remove when dry.

Nanaki walked away from the ladder and looked to his left. Baring teeth, he released a deep growl before stalking up to the destroyed, steel door. "The Gi tribe."

"Y'mean those fuckin' undead things?" Cid questioned.

Cloud nodded. "Why were they here? Bugenhagen had that entrance sealed up well."

"Move!" Cid shoved Cloud out of the way as he walked over to the door's torn and shattered pieces. He knelt down and picked up a large plate of steel, running his eyes over the severed edges. Bringing it to his face, he took numerous sniffs of the material.

"Ain't gunpowder, it weren't no human explosion," he stated.

"So they broke through with magic," Cloud continued.

Cid nodded and stood up, throwing the piece of scrap metal to the side. "That's 'bout all I can think of."

Nanaki stalked between them both, standing in the cold, dank entrance. "Cid."

The older man lifted an eyebrow. "Yea?"

"Can you seal this cave?"

"Got enough 'plosives to seal this cave up nice and good." Cid grinned and swiped a thumb under his nose.

Nanaki walked back past them and stood at the path to the lower areas. "Seal the bottom of the cave, I don't want anything collapsing up here."

"Listen up, dumbass! I know what I'm doin' with these things, y'hear?"

The feline ignored Cid's outburst and looked to his right. An elder's body laid strewn against the wall, arms severed and legs shredded. His body began to shudder as he turned back to Cloud. Words between them were unnecessary, and they knew it.

Nanaki bolted down the staircase.

Cloud turned back to the ladder. "I'm going to go talk to Lynnea. Be careful, Cid."

"Psh." The pilot yanked a stick of dynamite from his pocket. "Don't gotta be careful when you're Cid Highwind!"

Cloud nodded and made his way up the ladder.

* * *

Nanaki laid in front of Cosmo candle; his form stiff as he stared into the bright orange embers. A warm breeze passed through the open area, twisting and flicking the flames high into the air. The comfort he normally felt when lying there had gone, replaced by an all-consuming feeling of shame.

He had sworn to protect the canyon; sworn it to himself, his parents and grandfather. His paws dug into the dusty ground, tearing at the rock beneath. "Why did I go to Edge? I should have been here. My purpose is to protect this place... what was I thinking," he mumbled, shaking his head.

The sun had set long ago, many hours had passed since Nanaki first laid before the flame. Cid and Cloud had left earlier after scouring the Canyon for monsters, the latter offering to take care of Harcos. The warrior had thanked him; facing his son right now, after failing his mission reminded him of how he had once remembered his own father. He didn't want Harcos to see him that way. Not now.

"What possible reasoning did I have for leaving? How could my family lead a better life in Edge? This is our home. My home. My purpose."

Crying wasn't something associated with Nanaki. He was strong, mentally and physically. His travels had toughened him a great deal. The death of his parents and grandfather had struck him hard, almost destroying who he was. He didn't have his mother to turn to when he was sad, his father to express his anger to, or his grandfather for wise words of advice. This was something he would have to get through, alone.

His eyes stung and nostrils flared as he slowly turned his head, staring up to the top of the canyon. "How can I ever atone, father?"

* * *

Five miles from EDGE

1:18am

* * *

Cloud mounted Fenrir and sparked the engine before turning to Cid.

"Thanks for the ride, Cid." He nodded.

"Ahhh don't mention it. You're still gettin' me that fuckin' engine part for free! Here." Cid handed over a slip of paper.

Cloud looked through the specs before folding the paper in half and shoving it in his top pocket. "I'll get it as soon as possible and bring it out to you."

Cid nodded. "Wish Teef and the kid's well." He gave Cloud a pat on the back before making his way over to the control panel beside the hatch.

"I will. Thanks again." Cloud gave a sheepish smile and nodded before slipping his goggles on and kicking the stand from under Fenrir. He yanked the throttle and shot down the airship's cargo bay, straight into the middle of the empty highway.

His thoughts immediately returned to Nanaki; the warrior's eyes looked so empty as they had said their goodbyes. He had agreed to take care of Harcos until they were ready to bring him to the Canyon. After what had happened, Nanaki stated that he would not return to Edge. Of course, Cloud had been saddened to hear it; even if he understood the warrior's reasoning, it was going to feel a little more empty around the house.

The snowstorm finally came to an abrupt end, but the air still held a biting chill. He cursed himself for not bringing his long-sleeved fleece as he barreled down the icy tarmac.

A few minutes later, he slowed and turned off the engine. Walking the last fifty meters, he pushed Fenrir around and through the gate into the backyard. Quietly, he closed and locked the wooden gate behind him before slipping off his gloves and taking off his goggles.

Cloud hummed quietly to himself. "No lights, no noise. The bar isn't open?" He frowned and made a pointed effort of being quiet as he opened the backdoor. Stepping inside, he listened out for any sounds.

Two people laughing could be heard from the bar. He locked the back door and walked through the hallway, frowning with confusion.

What he saw in the bar made his teeth grit together.

"Well look at that, it's Cloud!"

"Cloud!" Tifa jumped up from her seat at the table and charged across the room, barreling into him and wrapping her arms around his chest. "Are you okay? I was worried!"

Cloud stood straight, unmoving, blue eyes glaring at the red-headed man across the room.

"What?" Reno questioned, holding his hands up.

"Why is he here?" Cloud growled.

Tifa blinked and looked up. "Oh, Reno came by to see if you could deliver a package."

"We don't deliver." Cloud didn't move a muscle. "So, why is he here?"

"This is a bar right? I'm a paying customer!" Reno attested and knocked back a shot of vodka.

"We're shut." Cloud scowled at the man. "Goodbye, Reno."

Tifa punched him in the arm. "Cloud, don't be so rude," she scolded. Turning her head back to the Turk, she offered a sheepish smile. "Thank you for the company, Reno, but we're closing now."

"Oh man..." the Turk sighed, his shoulders dropping. "There's nowhere else to get a drink this time of night!" He hopped out of his chair and grabbed his blazer, quickly slipping it on. "I'll catch you two lovebirds later."

"No, you won't." Cloud's voice held a dangerous edge.

He sighed again. "Later."

The door clicked shut behind the man, leaving the bar in complete silence.

Cloud jerked away from Tifa and walked behind the bar. He grabbed a tall glass from under the counter and turned to the far wall, pouring lemonade into it.

She put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot irritably. "That was rude, Cloud."

He ignored her and continued with his drink. She could tell he was okay, physically at least, which relieved her no-end, but his attitude right now was worrying her. It was common knowledge that Cloud despised Reno, but he had only been there for half an hour and had helped her to relax, somewhat.

Her stomach twisted in knots as she watched him fill the second half of his glass with whiskey, scowl still firmly in place. This wasn't how she wanted to welcome him home. Teeth worried at her bottom lip as she stalked up behind him.

He turned away from the entrance, sipping from the glass. She reached an arm out and gingerly placed a hand on his waist.

The fact that he didn't respond caused her to bite harder into her lip.

"Cloud?"

No response, just the sound of ice clinking against glass.

"I know you don't like Reno, bu-"

"Why did you let him in?"

She felt her heart sink in her chest. "Reno's not that bad of a person, Cloud..."

"He's a murderer and a liar."

He threw the rest of the potent drink down his throat and slammed his glass down on the counter. The sharp clatter made Tifa wince.

"I'm going to bed," he mumbled.

Before she could say anything, he had strode past her, the sound of him stomping up the stairs echoing through the bar.

Tifa hurriedly followed him as he walked down the hallway toward his old bedroom. Her heart pounded in her chest as he forced the door open. Acting quickly, she stuck her foot in the way of the door before he could shut it.

His hand gripped the edge of the door, still facing away from her. "Just let me sleep."

It had been a long enough day for him already. Not only had he had to fight more monsters than he cared to count, he was also faced with the fact that his friend would not be returning. Then, to return home and find Tifa laughing and joking without a care in the world, with a Turk no less, was just the icing on the cake. He wondered if her words the day before held any meaning whatsoever.

"No."

Cloud turned his head slightly, still pointedly looking away from her. "Tifa, I want to go to sleep."

She squeezed her fingers into tight fists. Feeling guilty was bad enough, let alone being shut out by him. "And I want to say something!"

Cloud was angry and upset; two things that always equaled a foul mood for him. The fact that he was being forced to deal with something he didn't want to just yet, tested his patience more than he cared for.

"You run out of the house early in the morning, telling me you need to fight a bunch of monsters, then you don't even have it in you to call me, to say you're okay? After everything that happened yesterday!" She punched his arm away from the door and slammed it behind her, glaring up at him.

He reached up to rub his forearm before turning around and staring at her, his face devoid of any expression. "The phone lines went out."

"_Oh no..." _Her blood ran cold.

He'd had enough.

"I went to Cosmo Canyon to help Nanaki fight monsters for hours, I was tired. Then, he tells me that he won't be returning to Edge." His brows knotted together. "I try my hardest to get home as quickly as possible, leaving Nanaki against my better judgment, because I wanted to see you."

He stepped around her and grabbed the door handle.

"Then I walk in only to see you laughing and joking with that Turk." He yanked the door open. "You didn't look too worried to me."

Tifa flinched at his tone, then at the sound of the door slamming with enough force to shake the floor.

After all the trouble she had given him about trusting her, talking to her... she hadn't trusted him. Knowing that he had rushed to get back to see her, then to have him walk in while she was talking and laughing with Reno... She was only trying to take her mind off of everything until she had gotten a phone call, _anything_ to say he was okay. Sitting around and worrying wasn't going to help anyone, but Tifa knew all too well that Cloud wouldn't be able to understand that.

Her eyes stung as his heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. "Wait!" she called out, her voice cracked and weak. She pulled the door open and jogged after him, she turned to follow him down the stairs. He turned left and kicked open the back door.

"Cloud!"

He was hurt, above all else. After everything that had transpired yesterday, baring her heart to him, he had made a pointed effort to get home to her, to show her that he cared and had listened to her. Then, to get home and see her so far away from worried or caring... He swallowed back the bile in his mouth, his chest aching with a feeling akin to betrayal.

"What is it, Tifa? What do you want?" He ground out; he needed to get away from here, from her.

"I want to explain!" she cried.

He walked up to Fenrir and kicked a leg over it before sitting down.

Fingers tightened in her fists, causing her nails to cut the skin of her palms.

His teeth grit together as he opened Fenrir's wings, yanking the base piece of Tsurugi out and shoving it into his holster.

She ran forward and grabbed his right wrist with both hands. "It's a misunderstanding, why won't you listen to me?"

Staring at the bike's ignition, he tried to reign in his feelings, fighting back the urge to drive away. Several moments of silence passed as he fought with himself.

Tifa jumped on the opportunity.

"I know you think that I don't care, that I lied to you, and I understand why you think that, Cloud." She tightened her grip. "I was so worried and tense that I needed to find a way to relax, just a little bit. Reno just had a few drinks and talked about his times with Rude, it helped to distract me for just a short while."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I thought I was going to break apart. I'm not used to this... I've always been so sure that you'd be fine, that you were invincible and I didn't need to worry about you. But since we admitted how we feel to each other, I can't help but feel terrified whenever you go away!"

He clenched his teeth, swallowing thickly as her hands shuddered around his arm. His eyes burned with anger and pain; confused and upset, he didn't know what to do, how to react. This wasn't something he knew how to deal with.

"I... uh..."

She blinked several times, her heart rising into her throat. "What is it?" she whispered weakly.

He turned to Tifa, gazing into her crimson eyes. The whites had turned a pale pink, her lips swollen from biting into them. He slowly took a shaky breath; with his free hand, he opened Fenrir's wings once more and yanked Tsurugi from his back, replacing it in the bike.

Tifa licked her dry, throbbing lips as he shut the compartments and slowly lifted himself back off of the bike.

He stood in front of her, staring with half-lidded, tired eyes. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding," he muttered.

Relief washed over her, but she couldn't leave it at that. "I'm the one who should be sorry." She dared to step forward and raise her hands, gingerly placing them on his chest. "You had every right to feel that way... I would have felt the same."

The aching in his chest finally disappeared, and he couldn't have been more thankful. He cautiously brought his hands around to hold her slim waist. "Tifa." He spoke in a clean, natural tone.

She closed her eyes and lifted her head. "Hmm?"

"Don't let the Turks into the bar again," he instructed.

Normally, she wouldn't have allowed herself to be ordered around, but fortunately she agreed with him... this time. "No more Turks."

He took a bold move, sliding his hands down to dig fingers into her firm ass while capturing her lips with his. She groaned in response, searching his tongue out with her own.

Reluctantly, he pulled away. "I hope... Denz and Marlene didn't hear any of that." He frowned when Tifa smiled up at him, confused by her expression. "Tifa, this isn't funny. If they heard it, then we have a lot of explaining to do."

Her smile widened into a cheeky grin.

"What?" The irritation in his voice was evident.

Tifa reached for the zipper of his fleece and yanked the metal tag down, exposing his bare chest to the bitterly cold wind. She groaned at the sight and leaned forward, running her tongue along the center of his torso.

The heat of her tongue against the cold of the wind had him holding onto her ass for fear of falling over. He shook his head to try and clear his mind. "Tifa, we need to see if Marlene and Denz ar-"

She nipped at his neck. "Marlene, Denzel and Harcos are at Yuffie's place for tonight."

His eyes widened. "Then-"

She nodded and sucked on his cold skin. "Yes, I wanted a night at home. Not in a cold, dirty field."

A smile worked his lips as he shook his head. "But what if-"

Tifa bit into his skin and pulled back, leaving a dark purple bruise in her wake. "Listen, Cloud. I'm trying to enjoy myself here. If you're not enjoying it, then that's fine, but the least you can do is shut up and stay still."

"Tifa... all I'm trying to say is th-"

He was silenced by her lips. She hungrily captured his bottom lip between her teeth as her hands reached up to grab each open side of his fleece, pulling him backwards towards the house.

She pulled her head away briefly, staring into his blue eyes, panting for breath.

"Cloud?"

He gulped. "Yeah?"

"Don't talk."

"O-okay."

...

**A/N:**

**Chapter 6 on the way soon.**

**Please drop me a review with comments, con-crit, or anything else you have to say!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations. Heheheh.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

* * *

Yuffentines Home.

7:15am

* * *

Hands on her hips, Yuffie looked down at Marlene and Denzel, inspecting their clothes. "Okay, do you have everything you need for school?"

"Yes! We have our books, pens and lunch money," Marlene replied.

"We packed our gloves just in case it snows again," Denzel added.

Yuffie sighed. "You're such good kids, I'm jealous!"

Denzel tilted his head. "What do you mean, Aunt Yuffie?"

The ninja screwed her face up. "You gotta stop calling me Aunt Yuffie... But, Cloud and Tifa have you two and you're no trouble at all! I want kids of my own!" She clasped her hands together, squealing to herself.

"That's because we love Cloud and Tifa, we don't want them to have a hard time!" Marlene exclaimed.

"Yeah! They take care of us, we're happy because of them!" Denzel continued.

Yuffie's excited exterior cracked as she leant down and ruffled their hair. "Maybe I'll be lucky to have kids as good as you two."

The two reached up and gave her a tight hug before backing off to go put on their shoes.

"Vinnie, can you walk Marl and Denz to school? I've gotta get to work!" She yelled.

Vincent emerged from the kitchen, a slice of toast in his mouth as he finished knotting his crimson tie. "Suur, kin yoo fie up my fanfanna?"

Yuffie tapped her foot. He still wasn't ready for work. "Vinnie, I know you lived in a coffin for 30 years, but you've got to start waking up with the alarm."

He swallowed a mouthful of toast and started rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. "My apologies, I'm still not quite accustomed to routine."

Yuffie perked an eyebrow. Vincent dressed in this way still caused her to mentally drool, sometimes even physically. He turned around as she stepped up to tie his crimson bandana. "I like this new look, y'know," she whispered in his ear.

The hairs on the back of his neck tingled. "It looks much more professional, but I'm glad that you enjoy it, too. It's certainly more comfortable."

She finished the knot and spun him by the shoulders, inspecting his suit. With a nod, she gave her approval.

"We're ready!" Marlene and Denzel chorused, slipping their bags onto their backs.

"Okay!" Yuffie checked her shirt pocket for her car keys and made sure her short, black skirt wasn't riding too high before giving the kids a thumbs up.

Vincent reached up to her shirt and plucked the keys from the pocket.

"What are you doing?" She stomped her foot.

"Those are my keys," Vincent stated, pulling his black blazer on as she patted at the rest of her pockets. "Let's go Marlene, Denzel."

The kids nodded and ran out to the sidewalk, with Vincent not far behind.

"Where are my keys?" Yuffie's yell could be heard far down the street. Vincent's lips held a ghost of a smile.

* * *

EDGE's Market

10:45

* * *

Tifa looked through her carrier bag, nudging food items aside to make sure she had everything they needed. "So we have Pork loin, baby potatoes and broccoli. I'll need to pick up some apples for the sauce, and some chicken stock for the gravy."

There was something theraputic about walking through the market. Many stalls were set up with fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, meats and fish. From clerks to customers, everyone wore a smile as they looked through the produce. It was hard to imagine that just over a year ago, a smile on someone's face was a rare sight, and now it seemed uncommon to see a frown.

She made her way through the bustling crowd to the fruit stall. She waved her hand to catch the attendant's attention. He closed his magazine and hopped up, clapping his hands together.

"Mornin' Tifa! What're you after today?" The clerk called out.

"Hello, Dave! Could I grab 24 of your biggest cooking apples?" She pointed to the basket of the variety she wanted.

Dave rummaged through the pile, squeezing and testing them before eventually gathering six in a bag and spinning it in his hands, sealing the paper shut. "That'll be 25gil, darlin'."

Tifa handed over a large coin and took her change. "See you tomorrow," she called out, making her way directly across to the meat stall.

"Mary!" She waved a hand again, catching her attention. "Sorry, I totally forgot to pick up the chicken stock!"

The old lady chuckled and reached under the counter, pulling out a tall, wide plastic tub. "I did try to tell ya, but you'd already run off."

She blushed and took the tub, slipping it into her bag. "Thanks, I'll see you later."

"Not to worry. Take care, m'love."

Making her way out of the market as she spotted a new stall on the very end. Interested, she slowly walked over and spotted hundreds of brown, pink and black boxes. She gasped, staring at the contents of a few open ones.

"Chocolates!"

The clerk slowly hobbled over to her side, hands behind his back. "Why, yes. These are the finest chocolates you've never tasted." He reached forward and lifted up an open box. "Go ahead and have a taste," he offered.

Tifa blinked with wide eyes. "Really?"

The old man chuckled; his thick, white moustache shaking under his breath. "I wouldn't offer if I weren't sure you'd want to buy it afterwards!"

She laughed and nodded. Running her finger along the edge of the pink cardboard, she decided on a round, brown chocolate in the bottom left corner. She slipped it between her lips and almost immediately groaned.

"That'd be our caramel delight." The old man lowered the box and spoke as he made his way behind the stall. "We make the caramel in copper pans with butter, sugar, cream and vanilla."

"Oh... my..." Tifa swallowed what was left of the liquid in her mouth. "How much?" she could barely contain her excitement.

"150gil per box, or three for 400," he replied.

"I'll take six!" She reached for her pocket and pulled out a 1000 gil note.

"That'll be 800gil then." The old man opened a dark, brown plastic bag and counted the boxes as he slipped them inside.

She handed over her money and took her change, as well as the bag. "Will you be here often?" she asked, almost scared that flavours this good could disappear.

"Ha! Of course!"

"Great, I'll see you again soon!"

"Take care, now."

She felt thoroughly pleased with herself. Food for dinner, a box of chocolates for her, Cloud, Marlene and Denzel; then another two for Vincent and Yuffie for taking care of the kids.

The walk home was uneventful, though she almost polished off her own box of chocolates on the way. "So delicious..." she mumbled to herself, pushing open the bar's front door.

...

"Tired..."

A sense of deja-vu hit Cloud as he poured his morning coffee. He'd already brushed his teeth, done his hair and had a wash, though.

Harco's followed the blond man around as he made a sandwich from ham and pickles, staring at his every move. It took Cloud a few minutes to notice the little cub, and a few more to work out what he wanted.

"Hungry?"

Harcos nudged Cloud's leg, licking at his lips.

"Hmm..." He walked over to the fridge and pulled open the door. On the middle shelf was a large stack of roasted beef; he assumed Tifa had cooked it yesterday, so he grabbed several thick slices. Grabbing a bowl from the worktop, he placed them inside and walked over the the sofa, putting it on the center cushion. The pup hopped up and stood there, staring again.

Cloud blinked as realisation hit him. "Oh, a drink."

He quickly poured a large bowl of water and placed that beside the pup. A smile worked his lips as the pup meowed and went to work on the beef. Cloud dropped down beside the pup joined him in his feasting, taking huge bites of his sandwich and sips of coffee.

"It would be much easier if you could talk, you know," he directed at the pup.

Harcos burped in response, Cloud couldn't help but laugh.

"Your dad said that he's sorry he didn't come back, but you're too young to go to where he is right now."

Harcos nodded and lapped at the water.

Another sip of coffee passed his lips. "How much can you understand?" He questioned.

Tifa stood in the hall, leaning against the wall as she watched Cloud converse with Harcos. It was strange and interesting at the same time. Cloud wasn't one of many words, but when faced with a being who can't talk, he had to say everything.

The pup finished his last mouthful of beef before licking his lips and laying down, resting his head on Cloud's lap.

The blond man reached a hand down and scratched his fluffy belly, snorting a laugh as his back leg started kicking into the air.

"Having fun?"

Cloud turned his head to the hallway, smiling as Tifa walked in. "Trying to explain that he's gotta stay here until we can take him to Cosmo Canyon."

Tifa grabbed the TV remote and turned on a random channel. "I'm sure he understands." She dropped the remote on his lap and made her way into the kitchen, flicking on the coffee pot. "We need to get ready for service this evening."

Cloud blinked. "It's only 11am."

Tifa walked over to the sofa and dropped herself on the armrest beside him, wrapping an arm around his neck, she picked strands of her hair out of his. "We have to prepare everything for the night, then we can spend the rest of the day however we want," she explained.

He shrugged and leant back into her arm. "Makes sense."

"Yeah." She put her fingers under his chin and pushed his head back before leaning forward and brushing her lips over his. "Marlene and Denzel are at school," she whispered.

"Harcos isn't." Cloud cut her short, giving her a quick kiss before carefully standing up, guiding the pups head onto the sofa cushion.

Tifa bit her lip. "I forgot... it's still hard to look at the cute little guy and remember that he can understand what's going on." She slipped down into Cloud's previous seat, lifting the pup's head onto her lap. "I wonder how long we'll have him, before Nanaki feels it's safe to take him back?" She ran her fingernails gently over his fluffy mane.

Cloud stretched his arms and gave them a shake before untying his pyjama pants and doing the same with his legs. "No idea. As long as it takes, and when can fly back there."

"What do you mean, 'until we can fly back there'?"

Cloud leant against the coffee table and crossed his arms. "Cid wants me to deliver him an engine part, the Shera's not in top condition."

Tifa frowned. "And you flew in it?"

He swallowed, looking down to the pup. "Cid wouldn't fly it if it wasn't fit to fly, and it was an emergency."

She let out a quiet sigh, smiling as Harcos woke up and began licking at her arm. "Morning, you."

The pup released a high-pitched yawn and stretched his legs.

"Taking a shower," Cloud announced, already walking across the room.

"Okay, there are fresh towels in the laundry room. I washed your uniform yesterday, too, that's in the wardrobe. Oh, I also put fresh pairs of underwear next to mine in the chest of drawers. Oh! I bought you some new socks this morning, too. They're in the carrier there." She pointed to the hallway.

Cloud blinked. "T-thanks."

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

12:04pm

* * *

Lynnea made her way out of the inn, her eyes showing the stress she had been under in the last 24 hours. Several visitors had been killed by the rampaging monsters, one of the town's elders had also been utterly mutilated. She was thankful that none of the townspeople themselves had been harmed, but her soul wept for the dead. The Inn acted as a temporary medical station for the wounded. Tables had been turned into beds, even the countertop of the bar had two, severely injured townsmen laid on it.

Even outside, people rushed around with medical supplies, food and water. She, as the wife of the Canyon's leader, had acted as a rock for the people. Even now, with Nanaki here, she remained steadfast.

He hadn't spoken since she had heard him call her name, announcing his arrival, yesterday. She was deeply worried about her husband. Deciding to go to him, to see if he had relaxed at all, she sprinted across the wide, open area of the Canyon; launching herself onto rocks far too high for humans to reach, she scaled them to the very top.

Quietly, she stalked across the flat surface towards Nanaki, who sat in the same position at the far end, staring up to the sky.

"Nanaki?" She spoke quietly as she came up to his side, lying beside him. He didn't repond, but he did nod to acknowledge her, at least.

"I only wish... that I knew what to say, to help you, my love." She rested her head on her paws, looking over the vast expanse of the burgundy canyon.

"The first time that I left the canyon, it had been my choice," he said.

Her ears perked up; resisting the urge to move, she remained still, fearing that he may stop speaking.

"I wanted to travel to Gongaga. After I had heard the news of a Mako reactor exploding, I wished to see it for myself, to mock Shinra."

He sighed. "Once I arrived, however, the town had been infested by Shinra troops. I knew they would shoot a beast of my size, so I remained in the brush, scaling trees and travelling through the canopies."

Nanaki's eyes fell closed as he took a deep breath. "I saw dozens of dead bodies. Some crushed under machinery, others impaled with large shards of steel. There were men, women and children, screaming and crying, grieving for their lost family and friends."

"That's terrible..." Lynnea whispered.

"That was when Hojo arrived via helicopter. The heartless man pushed people out of his way and the troops barred people's paths. He walked up to the reactor and looked around the centre of the wreckage, then turned around and walked back out, unfazed by the dead bodies."

"He stood behind the line of troops and told everyone that they had tampered with the reactor, causing this mess. That it was their fault this explosion had happened. He walked out of the line, back towards the helicopter."

He took another, shuddering breath. "An old man, he walked towards Hojo, and yelled at the scientist. He said he had no heart, that Shinra had broken their promise of safe energy. Hojo turned and laughed, shaking his head. I'm not sure what happened next. I was trying to reign in my anger. I just remember seeing the old man running towards him, then Hojo pulled a gun from his coat and shot the man. He shot him again, and again, until his dead body just shuddered on the floor."

"I was overcome by rage. My instincts told me to tear this man limb from limb. I leapt out of the trees, kicking a number of troops out of the way as I charged at him. I couldn't have been further than ten feet away, when he lifted his gun."

"I remember feeling pain in my right eye, intense pain. Then all went black. I woke up at some point in a cage. It was months later that Cloud, Tifa and Barret broke into the building."

Lynnea sighed, rising to sit beside him. "I had no idea..."

"I cannot protect anything. Not even myself."

"That is not true. You protected the entire planet!"

He turned to look at her. "With my companions. Alone, I am just not enough."

She frowned. "You are not alone, do not say that again. I am here. There is nothing wrong with trusting others to help you. Be it yourself, Cosmo Canyon, or the planet. Everyone has something they wish to protect, and we will protect this place, together."

He sat in quiet contemplation for several moments, then turned his head to nuzzle her neck. "Together?"

"Yes, together. And when Harcos comes of age, we will teach him, too."

"Harcos... I miss him," he muttered.

"I know, my love. I miss him too, but we cannot risk long distance travel right now, he is too young."

"I cannot leave this place again, either."

"We can trust Cloud and Tifa, they will take good care of him."

They remained quiet for several minutes, sitting in companiable silence until Nanaki lifted his head, looking up at the sky. "Yes. Yes, we can trust them. When Harcos returns, we will welcome him into our safe home, and we will protect him. Here."

Lynnea smiled and leant into him.

* * *

7th Heaven

1:51pm

* * *

"Hey, Cloud! When's food gonna be ready?"

Cloud bit his cheeks and growled to himself. Cooking for Nanaki was one thing, cooking for Yuffie and Vincent was something entirely different.

"It'll be ready when it's ready," he ground out.

"Some of us gotta get back to work!" She sighed and sat back in her chair, throwing her feet into Vincent's lap. "Where's Tifa, anyway?"

Cloud tossed the bowl of boiled potatoes in some butter and salt, totally ignoring her.

"Yuffie, Cloud's trying to concentrate." Vincent glanced over to Cloud and noted the thumbs up. "Why not play with Harcos, you're dirtying my good trousers." He looked down at his previously jet black slacks.

"Not a bad idea!" The loud woman hopped out of her chair and made her way upstairs.

Vincent got up from his seat and brushed the dirt from his legs, then moved to sit on a barstool before Cloud. "Sorry, Cloud."

He shook his head. "It's fine, I have to learn to deal with people like... that, anyway."

The older man swirled the contents of his drink, ice clinked against glass. "How are you enjoying the change in career?"

Cloud placed the bowl to one side and lifted the oven baked loin from its tray, placing it on the griddle with a loud sizzle. "At first it was boring. I guess it's still not the most exciting job, but it keeps me busy, and it stops Tifa, Marlene and Denz from worrying." He turned the loin. "That's more important to me."

Vincent's lips curled into a small smile. "You've changed."

Cloud smirked. "Yeah, I think I have."

Vincent went to take a drink, but was met with a face full of ice. "Could I get another drink?"

Cloud motioned behind him. "Help yourself."

Vincent complied and moved behind the bar. "Where do you keep the whiskey?"

"End of the counter, right side, second shelf."

He moved along and indeed spotted the golden liquid. After pouring himself half a glass, he topped it up with ice and moved back to his stool.

"Spike!" Yuffie yelled.

Cloud closed his eyes and slowly counted to three.

"What?" He yelled back.

"Tifa's asleep on the sofa!"

He sighed and put the half-seared meat back on its tray before taking off his waist apron and throwing it on the counter. After jogging up the stairs, he spotted Yuffie staring at Tifa, who half sat, half laid with Harcos in her arms. Kneeling down, he reached forward and gently shook her shoulder.

"Tifa, lunch is almost ready."

She mumbled something incomprehensible, not waking.

He shook a little harder. "You need to wake up, Tifa."

"Mmm... Cloud... stop. Too early... Yuffie will hear... hehe..."

His face turned bright red.

Yuffie struggled to hold in her laughter; both hands covering her mouth, she ran down the hallway, stairs and into the bar before exploding.

"TIFA!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Reviews with comments, con-crit or anything are always welcome! Feed the inspiration!**

**To anyone who was wondering, "Harcos" is the Hungarian word for "Warrior". I thought over a number of names for Nanaki's son, but in the end, I decided to go for something that would relate.**

**You see, there is a breed of Wolf named "Canis Lupus Minor". It resides in Northern America, but the name is Austro-Hungarian. The wolf, looks wise, is very similar to how Nanaki looks in both FFVII and AC, only it's grey. **

"**Lynnea", Nanaki's wife, is the Al Bhed translation of "Carrie". Being my mental twin, I had to get her name in there. Not to mention, the name is quite nice!**

**Lynnea is pronounced – Lie-nen-nee-ah.**

**Harcos is pronounced as it's spelled – Har-cos. **

**I'm English, so my accent makes things sound differently to how others may read it, thought you might want to know.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations. Heheheh.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

* * *

7th Heaven

2:15pm

* * *

"Heheheh..." The sound of traffic outside was just barely audible. "Mmm... hehe..." Knives scratched on plates and ice clinked against glass. "Hahaha!"

Tifa dropped her cutlery and grabbed the ege of the table. "Yuffie, please stop it!" She wasn't particularly embarassed. Instead, she was more concerned for Cloud; his face pointed directly at his plate as he slowly fed himself, not acknowedging a word anyone said.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry!" She waved a hand, the fork in it firing a potato across the room. "Uh... I'll get that."

Tifa shook her head, looking over at Cloud. "It's okay. I'll get it later."

The western girl followed her gaze, then looked to the woman once more, offering an apologetic smile. "So, anyway, like I was going to say earlier, Denz and Marl were really great last night."

A sigh passed Tifa's lips. "I'm glad." She picked up her knife and fork. "They've been back and forth so much, I worried that they'd be getting confused."

"Nah!" The girl shook her head. "They just talk about how they get to see different stuff everyday. Great kids!" Yuffie chuckled and stuffed her mouth with a potato.

Not wanting to be dragged into the conversation, Vincent ate in silence, his eyes darting between the two women as they spoke. He turned his head to Cloud, noting the large bandage around his hand.

"What happened?" He asked.

Cloud barely moved, his gaze moving to Vincent's plate. "What?"

"Your hand, what happened?" He slipped a slice of pork into his mouth.

"Ah," he breathed. "Cleaning Tsurugi, Denzel was trying to clean one of the parts and got too close to the blade, I wasn't paying attention when I told him to stop."

The older man nodded. "Understandable." He paused to take another sip of whiskey. "I heard that Nanaki returned to Cosmo Canyon."

Cloud sighed. "Monsters went on a rampage, so he's beating himself up about it."

"Sounds like someone else I know," he stated. "And now you're taking care of Harcos?"

The blond nodded. "Nanaki doesn't want him travelling that far yet, so I said we'd take care of him until he's ready."

Vincent sipped from his glass again. "Perhaps it's pride, more than anything else."

"That's what I thought." Cloud laid down his cutlery and leaned back into the chair.

"What are you two talking about?" Tifa questioned, directing her gaze between Cloud and Vincent.

The older man shrugged. "Nothing important."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, nothing important."

Yuffie frowned. "You're bad liars, y'know."

Tifa chuckled and kicked Cloud's leg. "Glad to see you're back with us."

He smiled and reached over the table to pick up all four empty plates, stacking them on top of his own before getting up and making his way behind the bar, laying them in the sink.

"Well, we should get back to work. Reeve is starting a building project near the monument, supposedly it will become a stock market." Vincent stood, pulling blazer from the back of his chair. "Though it will likely become another apartment complex." He slipped his arms into the jacket and popped the collars.

An idea came to mind, so as Tifa hopped out of her own chair she took a moment before posing her question. "Vincent?"

The man looked up at her. "Hmm?"

"Well... Cloud and I were thinking of expanding the bar into the empty land next to us, we wanted to know if that would be a problem?"

"Hey, Tifa!" Cloud called out.

She ignored him, watching as Vincent rubbed his chin. "I don't think that would be a problem. We have no plans to expand in this area right now." He looked over to Cloud. "He most likely still feels indebted to you, despite Fenrir."

Cloud looked away. "I don't want charity."

Tifa frowned and snapped her head to him. "Be quiet," she ordered.

Vincent breathed a quiet laugh. "He can eat and drink for free here, I don't think he would take your money."

Turning back to Vincent she threw him a smile. "Would you mind asking him to stop by with you two tonight?"

"Of course not."

"Great!"

"Okay, okay. We've gotta get moving, if we're late Reeve'll have a nervous breakdown." Yuffie spun Vincent by the shoulders, pushing him toward the door. "Thanks for lunch, we'll see ya tonight!"

The older man threw them both a wave before being nudged out of the door.

The door shut with a quiet click behind them. Tifa let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction before spinning on her heels and walking over to the bar, dropping herself on a stool before Cloud.

He stared at her with a frown. "Tifa, we haven't discussed what we want to do yet. I haven't even worked in the bar."

Her fingers twisted a napkin into various shapes. "It'll take time to get anything started, that should give you plenty of time to get used to working here."

He sighed and turned around; flicking the faucet open, he showered the dirty dishes. "We need an idea of what we want to do." A quiet chuckle behind him deepened his frown. "What?"

"I have a lot of ideas already."

He placed a clean plate on the drying rack. "Such as?"

"Well." She hopped out of the chair and walked over to the wall. "We can have steps that go down to a lower level dining area, here." Turning on her heel, she walked to the middle of the room. "Then we can have the kitchen come along here to where the door is now, giving us a lot of room to work in."

Cloud leaned on the counter, visualising what she was saying, and where she was waving her hands.

"That way, we can have all of our equipment in plain sight." She turned again, pointing to Cloud. "Over there, we can put a wall up with a door and have a huge storage area with freezers, fridges and shelves."

"What about the storeroom we have now?" he questioned.

Tifa smiled. "We can knock down the walls and make that part of the dining area, too. There will be so much more space for people to sit, we'd triple the amount of customers we have now!"

Cloud perked his eyebrows and hummed, nodding as she spoke. "Not bad."

"Mmmhmm." She walked back over to her stool. "I'm sure Reeve can draw up some plans when he comes by later on."

Cloud frowned again. "I still don't like this."

"What do you mean?" Tifa dropped her gaze to the bar.

"Reeve will be insistant on doing it for free. I know he owes us, and I know we should accept it, but this is our bar. It would be better if we could pay for it ourselves."

She fiddled with the napkin again, tearing strips of the thin paper. "But those are our savings. We said we wouldn't go into the money we earned unless we really needed to."

Cloud rubbed his forehead and sighed. "We'll talk it over with him, before making a decision."

His compromise seemed to satisfy Tifa, who looked up and tilted her head. "It can't hurt."

He nodded in response and turned back to the sink, washing up the last of the dishes while Tifa cleaned up their table and brought over their glasses. She placed them on the counter and watched him as he scrubbed at the plates.

"It's still strange seeing you here, during the day," she stated.

Cloud turned his head slightly, still looking down at the dirty dishes. "What do you mean?"

She sipped the last of her lemonade and placed her glass down, crossing her arms and leaning on the counter. "For over a year, you'd only ever be home to sleep or pick up packages. Now you're here every day."

He suddenly felt a little nervous "Is that a bad thing?"

Her head shook violently. "No, not at all! It's just... strange, and nice."

A smile formed on his lips. "Yeah, it is nice."

"It's also nice having someone else do the dirty dishes," she joked.

He turned and flicked her with water.

"Cloud!"

* * *

Costa Del Sol

3:10pm

* * *

"Fuckin' kid... never answers his fuckin' phone, I dunno how many fuckin' messages I left." Cid kicked at a stone wall, smoke billowing from his lips.

"Cid, will you please stop swearing?" Shera half instructed, half pleaded.

"Sorry," he grunted. Flicking his phone shut, he dug it into his grey shorts. It was too hot for him; he preferred basking in the cool air of an engine's radiator, chewing ice while sorting out wiring or aiming a fan up the back of his shirt when he was configuring the airship's computer.

Shera, however, loved the heat. Her long, nutty brown hair whipped side to side in the strong, warm breeze. The summery, flower embroidered dress sat loosely on her shoulders, allowing her to enjoy the sun to its fullest.

"How long is this boat gonna take, damnit?" He sat on the steps leading to the dock, scratching random markings into the stone floor with his spear.

"The ticket office said that it wouldn't take longer than twenty minutes to finish the preparations. Perhaps we should get some drinks?" Shera fanned through the compartments of her purse, pulling out a 100gil note.

Cid hummed before flicking his spear up the right way and nodding. "Yeah. Yeah les' do that."

They made their way up the steps and crossed the bridge into the center of town. He stopped at the end, looking up at the villa before them.

Shera came to a stop several paces ahead before turning around. "Cid?"

He shook his head. "Ah, it's nuffin'. Jus' remembered this is some place that ass bought a few years ago. He don't never use it. Fuckin' waste!"

"Cid, language."

"Yea, sorry."

They made their way down the steps and over the open town centre to a small shop near the inn. After buying several bottles of water, they made their way back to the dock.

"_The boat for Junon leaves in 5 minutes. Estimated time of arrival is 5:10pm."_

"That's us, les' go."

* * *

WRO Headquarters

5:24pm.

* * *

"It's friiiiiiday night!" Yuffie drummed her hands on her desk, the excitement she exuded seemed to affect her co-workers, too.

"Yes, it is. We're almost done for the week and I could use a stiff drink," Reeve responded.

"I agree." Vincent shuffled a stack of papers. "I believe Tifa and Cloud wish to discuss building extensions for the 7th Heaven, Reeve."

Reeve scratched his neck stubble as he stood up from his desk. "Oh? That's good news."

Vincent nodded and stood up himself, flattening his tie against his chest. "Tifa seemed cautiously optimistic."

Nodding, Reeve opened of his desk drawers, pulling out a large pad of paper and numerous pencils. "What about Cloud?"

"Cloud looked..." Vincent started.

"...like Cloud." Yuffie finished.

Reeve chuckled and stepped around his desk, patting his plush cat on the head. "Well, who will be the designated driver tonight?"

Yuffie shook her head and hands, not bothering to sort out her desk before jumping out of her chair. "Not me! I was last week."

Reeve turned to Vincent. "You had a lunch break earlier, so I'm certainly not going to be going easy."

The older man sighed and shook his head. "I'll drive."

"Woohoo!" Yuffie pumped a fist and yanked at her tie, pulling it away from her neck and stuffing it into her shirt pocket. "Let's go!"

* * *

7th Heaven

6:00 pm

* * *

"Tifa! Where do you want me to put the vegetables?" Denzel hoisted a huge, fabric carrier over his back and hobbled out of the storeroom.

"Just put it at the far end of the bar counter, please!"

"Tifa! What about the pots of sauce?" Marlene called out.

"End of the counter, next to the sink!"

Cloud hoisted huge, metal barrels of lager around the storeroom. After unhooking the empties, he slipped the full ones into their place and attached their relevant hoses. With the last one in place, he swiped his arm across his forehead and stalked back into the bar. He tested each of the drink receptors, nodding with satisfaction as frothy, golden liquid poured from each one.

"Cloud, are you done in there?" Tifa called out.

He wiped his hands on a dish cloth and gave Denzel a pat on the head before walking through a door behind the bar. "What's up?"

"This bag of pork is heavy, can you carry it through?" She grunted, giving up on the giant plastic bag of meat.

He shrugged and walked over, grabbing the corner of the bag and throwing it over his shoulder with ease. "Where do you want it?"

Once again she had been impressed by his incredible strength. "Anywhere in the kitchen is fine."

As he walked out of the door, she grabbed numerous plastic tubs of spices, herbs and oils. Arms laden with produce, she walked out and laid it all on the work surface.

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together and looked over at Cloud, Denzel and Marlene. "Cloud, can you get started on the meat, just do it the same as we had for lunch."

He nodded. "Sure."

"Marlene, I want you to lay the tables. Fresh tablecloths are upstairs on the drier. Cutlery is in the usual place."

"Okay!" The little girl rushed up the stairs.

"Denzel, I need you to make sure the floor is completely clean and double check the number of places. There should be nine."

"Sure, Tifa!" He too, headed off to get started on his tasks.

"What about you?" Cloud asked as he cut open the wrappers of four pork loins.

"I have to get the vegetables and sauce ready," she stated.

Cloud shrugged and grabbed the spices and herbs he remembered from earlier and went to work sprinkling them over the meat. He then grabbed the bag and moved back into the freezer room, placing the bag into the deep freeze. Suddenly, he realised something and walked back to the bar. "Wait."

"Hmm?" Tifa didn't turn from the large, plastic tubs of broccoli.

"We don't open until eight, why are we cooking now?" he questioned.

This time she did turn around, biting her lip. "Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"Cid and Shera are coming to visit. He needs to pick up that engine part, so I offered them dinner," she explained.

Cloud visibly paled. "I totally forgot about that engine part."

Tifa hummed and lifted the large, rectangular tubs from their bag. "Since Vincent and Yuffie took care of Denzel and Marlene, I said they could come for dinner, too. Since Reeve should be here, we're cooking for him, as well."

"What about Barret?" Cloud scratched the back of his head.

She tilted her head as she popped the lids from the tubs. "What do you mean?"

"Me, you, Harcos, Denzel, Marlene, Yuffie, Vincent, Reeve, Cid... I figured that if the whole gang is gonna be here, Barret would be too." He tossed the meat around in the spices and placed them one by one on the griddle.

"I did phone him, but he said he wouldn't be able to make it back."

"Good."

Tifa frowned. "Cloud!"

He shrugged. "It's gonna be bad enough having Reeve and Cid see this, last thing I want is Barret to be rolling around on the ground."

"So, you're embarrassed to be working here?" Tifa crossed her arms.

Cloud turned to her and blinked. "What? I just don't like being made fun of."

She hummed curiously and returned to cutting and trimming the broccoli heads.

"Tifa, does the knife go on the lef t or the right?" Marlene called out, looking between the two sides of each plate.

"On the right," Cloud replied.

Marlene turned to look at Tifa, her face scrunched into a confused look. "Cloud knows this stuff?"

He spun the four loins of pork and threw a girl a small smile. "I know a lot of things."

"Wow." She was impressed by his knowledge of table-laying.

Content with the pork, Cloud turned them once more before laying down his tongs and walking down the bar. He reached underneath and grabbed a large glass, then poured himself a tall, frothy pint of lager.

"Drinking this early?" Tifa didn't look up.

He placed his glass on the counter and turned to her, crossing his arms. "Is there a problem with that?"

Tifa raised her eyebrows and shrugged, tossing a handful of prepared vegetables into an empty saucepan. "Nope."

"Good," he retorted. Leaning back against the counter, he lifted his glass and took a large mouthful of his drink. The bitter coolness almost made him groan with satisfaction.

"Put those loins in the oven, _please." _

Cloud frowned at her tone, but did as instructed.

"_Thank you."_

He felt himself growling quietly, trying to work out what the hell her problem was.

"Tifa, can Harcos come downstairs for dinner?" Denzel bounced a broom between his hands.

Tifa immediately smiled and looked over at the young boy. "Of course he can, it's just when we're open to the public that he's not allowed down here."

Denzel's face lit up as he laid the broom against the counter and ran upstairs.

Cloud watched her with curious eyes. "Do you want me to do anything else?"

Tifa shook her head and reached under the counter, pulling out a second saucepan and emptying another handful of vegetables into it.

He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Tifa, what is the problem?"

"You're embarrassed to be here."

Blinking, his head tilted slightly. "What?"

"You're embarrassed to be working here, you said it yourself." She brought her cleaver down with a loud _thump_, whittling a number of asparagus tips at the same time.

His arms folded across his chest. "I am not embarrassed," he retorted.

"Well, whatever it is, it makes you embarrassed to be seen by your friends." She dropped the last of the vegetables into the second saucepan and walked past him to the sink. After filling each of them halfway with water, she turned and placed them on the griddle to heat.

He ground his teeth together. "I just said I am not embarrassed. Why aren't you listening to me?"

Tifa stirred the vegetables and sprinkled some salt into each pan. "You're the one who isn't listening, Cloud." She sighed and turned to face him. "I don't mind if you're feeling out of place, but I do mind that you're bothered being seen like this by your friends. I understand that you think it's a woman's job, but you need to get over it."

He was surprised by the accuracy of her statement. "How did you..."

She breathed a small laugh and closed her eyes. "It's obvious. Just... try and deal with it, okay?" Leaning forward, she gave him a small kiss. "Think of how many people get to work with someone they love. I'm happy that you're here, so get over it!" She kissed him once more before walking towards the stairs. "Taking a quick shower, watch over the food please."

Cloud just stared at where she had been standing. She had a point. He was happy to be working with her, and the fact that he didn't have to fight monsters on a near-daily basis was a plus, too. But...

He looked down at his waist apron. "I look like an idiot."

* * *

Highway: Junon - Edge.

6:45pm

* * *

"Cid, please slow down!" Shera cried, her tight hold threatening to cut off the pilot's breath.

"Slow down? These rental bikes are slow fuckers anyway!" He roared with laughter, spinning the throttle and throwing more gas into the mix.

"CID! LANGUAGE!"

* * *

Reeve's home.

6:50pm

* * *

Reeve slipped his key from the lock and pushed the front door open. Lifting an arm, he allowed his guests entrance first.

Once into the hallway, he directed them to the living room on the right.

"Help yourselves to drinks, there are plenty of spirits and mixers in the cabinet on the right. I won't be long getting changed." He left the room and jogged up the stairs.

Vincent nodded and made his way over to the cabinet. Yuffie grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Nu-uh, you can't drink tonight!"

With a sigh, he nodded. Yuffie, however, took the invitation and walked over to the first small, wooden door. After yanking it open, she pulled out a tall, thin, glass bottle full of a transparent red liquid. Intrigued, she looked over the label.

"_Zolom blood... Cherry liquor, guaranteed to start a fiery night!"_She winced at the awful phrase, but flipped the top off anyhow. Taking a deep sniff of the liquid, her eyes lost focus for a few seconds. "Whew, smells good."

Vincent watched on, his jealousy not outwardly showing.

She took a mouthful of the drink and screwed her face up. Swallowing, she let out a deep breath and replaced the stopper. "Strong, but man that is _good_!"

"Yuffie, you should pour it into a glass before drinking. That's not only rude, but unhygienic," Vincent scolded.

She just waved a hand over her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, you're just jealous."

He bit his tongue.

"Okay, ready." Reeve walked into the room, having changed into blue jeans and a light pink dress shirt. Rolling his sleeves up, he looked over at Vincent. "Oh, you can't drink tonight." He smirked at the ex-turk.

Vincent sighed and walked out into the hallway. "I need to change, also."

Yuffie hopped up and stomped after him. "No. You're not getting changed into that horrible cloak, it smells like crap."

Reeve burst into laughter.

Vincent pulled his right hand into a fist and yanked the door open with the other. "Let's just go, then."

* * *

**A/N:**

_**Please leave a review with comments, con-crit and statements. Anything you particularly enjoyed? Anything you'd like to see? Reviews give writers inspiration, and let them know that their works aren't being read and forgotten!**_

**So, next chapter will be a huge dinner with almost the full gang. I've never written anything with so many people in one place, so it'll be a nice challenge. Apologies in advance if I don't do it complete justice.**

**I've had a couple of PM's regarding Tifa's recent "breakdowns". Now, I can understand that people think it's OOC, but give me a moment to explain why it isn't.**

**Through the whole of the FFVII game, Tifa fought with her emotions. She is a lot weaker than she allows herself to be around others, as you can see from flashbacks, and the time spent in the lifestream with Cloud. When put up against something that troubles her, she does her best to hide it. But why? My answer to that, is that she just didn't feel she could tell anyone about it. Everyone had enough to worry about with Meteor, Sephiroth, WEAPON, etc. So now that she and Cloud are much closer, around each other much more, she finally lost control of her emotions and exploded with everything she had been thinking. **

**AC was a great film, but I think too many people see how everyone acted in it, as how their characters truly are. This isn't the case, in my opinion. During AC, Cloud had introverted due to his Geostigma, guilt over Zack, Aeris and inability to protect Tifa/Marlene/Denzel. I mean, I feel for the guy. He spent the last few years saving the planet, then he gets hit by the Geostigma and feels powerless. AC showed Cloud going through the transition of a "Lone Wolf" to someone that people need. Tifa, Denzel and Marlene all relied on him. **

**Cloud isn't exactly a loud, outgoing person. But he certainly isn't the quiet type that draws totally into himself. If you play FFVII from the Lifestream onwards, you can get a great feel for how Cloud is, and Tifa too, for that matter.**

**Anyway, I apologise for the extra long A/N. I wanted to make sure people understood why I'm writing like I am. If you disagree, that's perfectly fine. I'm not going to argue it with anyone.**

**Chapter 7 will be out soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or compromising situations. Heheheh.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

A kind reviewer suggested that I should post some songs that I listen to when writing, so people can get into the mood I was in. A good idea, considering music is a huge part of my day to day life. Just a note, most of the songs I listen to for inspiration aren't necessarily what I'd listen to normally. So don't judge me! All of these songs are on youtube, so I'll drop the /watch parts for you to copy and paste.

General listening purposes:  
/watch?v=5xCb6gkVCmY  
/watch?v=HiUojSuyup8

One specifically for the bar scene:  
/watch?v=AX4LUlivE-s

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

7:00pm

* * *

Almost every room, shop and even parts of the outer Canyon had been damaged. Luckily, the rich, red rock used to first create the large structure were in abundance. Townsfolk would travel to the nearby forest to bring lumber, natural twine from trees and sap to aid in the rebuild.

Nanaki had not slept in two days. Fatigue had barely touched him as he stalked room to room, checking up on his people, making sure they were getting enough rest. Then, he would return to the ledges of the outer Canyon, keeping a watchful eye over entrances, cliffs and subterranean living quarters.

He walked into one of the last rooms of the Canyon. Looking around, he noted extensive damage with a grimace. The shelves, counter and even parts of the walls had been demolished in the free-for-all three days ago. Residents of the Canyon had been hard at work around the clock to restore the Canyon. It was not a small scale operation.

"I'm sorry that I cannot help out. If you require anything, be sure to let myself or Lynnea know. I will be on watch along the terrace."

The worker nodded. "Thank you, Nanaki. Please make sure you get some rest."

The feline returned his nod, and his kind words before walking out of the room, turning left and exiting onto one of the large, open terraces. Within seconds, his mind drifted to his son, as it did when he wasn't preoccupied with a task. Guilt was one of the more prominent emotions that he felt. Keeping his son away, so that he wouldn't grow to question what this event had been about. That would be swiftly followed by sadness; not being able to see the pup's face every day hurt him deeply, often leading him to question why he had made that decision.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he focused on the matter at hand. His home was in shambles and the people of Cosmo Canyon were working exceptionally hard.

"Elder Stines is currently holding a class with a number of children."

He turned his head, nodding at Lynnea as she walked to stand beside him.

"Despite everything, the people are surprisingly optimistic," she stated.

"The people of Cosmo Canyon are not easily discouraged. Even during the time of Meteorfall, they maintained steadfast. The elders truly do a wonderful service here."

"Mmm. They believe in the planet and that what happens, happens for a reason." She gave him a pointed glance. "That stands for you, also."

He looked away and nodded. "Grandfather was right, I wasn't ready to protect the Canyon." He let out a growl as he stretched his back legs. "Perhaps this was the planet's way of telling me that my time has come."

Lynnea closed her eyes and leaned into him. "Perhaps it was Bugen, himself, who was trying to convey that."

They sat in silence for several minutes, looking out over the Canyon and tropical sunset, before Nanaki let out a quiet chuckle. "Grandfather... It certainly wouldn't surprise me."

"I forgot to mention that I spoke to Marlene earlier."

His ears perked. "How is everyone?"

"Everyone is doing just fine. Harcos is being kept occupied by Denzel, while Marlene is trying to teach him to talk." She began laughing and was quickly joined by Nanaki. "They are having a large dinner tonight, and are going to send their regards to the people here."

"_H-hey! You can't just walk in here! Do you have an invitation?"_

"_I dun' need no invitation! OI! NANAKI! Where is that fleabag!"_

"_Nanaki! Please come and help!"_

Smiling, Nanaki quickly jumped from the terrace to the open space below and trotted over to the Canyon's entrance.

"Long time no see, Barrett."

* * *

7th Heaven

7:15pm

* * *

"How 'bout a lager, gorgeous?"

Cloud could feel the veins on his forehead threatening to burst.

"Cid!" Shera's face glowed with embarrassment. Daring to look over at Tifa and Cloud behind the bar, she grimaced and shook her head.

"I'm gonna kill you," Cloud growled under his breath.

Tifa squeezed on his forearm. "No you're not, just calm down."

"I'm jus' messin'. But that lager would be great." Cid laughed once more, waving his hand. "Man, would never 'ave seen you workin' here."

"Beats smelling like Zolom shit after working on an engine," he retorted.

"Cloud!" Tifa kicked him in the calf.

"Not bad!" Cid grabbed the lager that Tifa poured him and moved over to the large table. Tifa had moved two together to seat everyone that would be coming for dinner.

Shera quickly ran from the table to the bar. "I'm so sorry... I have no idea what's come over him."

Cloud took a number of deep breaths. "It's not your fault." He looked to Tifa who gave him a reassuring smile. "Want anything to drink? I'd recommend the iced rosé."

Shera looked between the two. "That would be lovely, thank you."

As Cloud moved out to the back fridge, Tifa quickly took his place. "He's learning quickly," she stated proudly.

"He certainly is! I was so used to serving him drinks when he would come to Rocket Town, it's strange to have it this way around!" The two women chuckled as Cloud walked out, several bottles in his arms.

Embarrassed, he set them down on the work surface and began unscrewing the corks.

"Cloud, remember that you have to-"

He cut her off. "I know, put them in an iced decanter."

Tifa smiled, glancing at Shera. "Told you, he's learning quickly."

Shera smiled and looked over to Cloud as he popped the fourth cork. "So, Cloud, how are you finding it working here?"

He grabbed the corks and chucked them in a bin under the counter. "It's... different." He turned around and opened the fridge behind him, pulling out a large, glass bottle. Setting it down beside the bottles of wine, he began pouring them into it.

Tifa realised he wasn't going to continue. "Well, we haven't actually opened the bar for a while, so this is the big practice run before we open this evening."

"Ah." Shera nodded. "Well, if what I can smell is what we're having for dinner, I'm sure you'll do just fine, Cloud."

He offered Shera a lop-sided smile. "Thanks."

"This lager's fuckin' lovely!" Cid bellowed from the table.

Tifa looked over at Cid, then back to Cloud. "I'll finish doing that. Get yourself a drink and go sit with Cid," she instructed.

Cloud didn't get a chance to reply as she nudged him aside with her hips. With a shrug, he reached for his empty pint glass and re-filled it before making his way over to the table and dropping himself in the chair beside Cid.

"Yeah, so, sorry 'bout that. Kinda odd seein' ya servin' rather than drinkin'." Cid took a large mouthful of his beer; licking his lips and letting out a pleasured sigh, he placed his glass back down.

"Don't worry." He took another mouthful of beer. "It's a change, I do miss driving around on Fenrir, though."

Cid shook his head and yanked a cigarette from his pocket; lighting it, he drew in a long breath then blew out a long puff of smoke. "Dunno how you 'kin do it. I gotta be out there, flyin' through the clouds, burnin' rubber on the roads. Shit, I couldn't do this."

"I'll see how it goes." Cloud shrugged and took a mouthful of his own beer. "Sorry about the engine part, by the way."

"Nah, dun' worry. It's good gettin' out and about on the tarmac, an' there ain't nothin' like a well cooked meal!"

"_What was that, Cid_?"

"Uh, nothin'! Nuthin' at all, honey!"

Cloud smirked. "Did you get the part?"

"Naw, we came straight 'ere." He lit up the cigarette, taking a deep drag before continuing. "We'll go grab it tomorrow, gonna get slaughtered tonight!"

Cloud chuckled and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, sounds good."

A loud bang on the door was followed by a familiar, banshee-like wail. _"OPEN UP! WE'RE HERE!"_

"Can you get that, Cloud?" Tifa called out.

He slipped out of his chair and walked over to the door. After yanking it open, he came face to face with Yuffie. Cloud blinked. "Evening."

"Yo, Spike!" She walked straight through the bar, slapping Cid on the shoulder on the way to the counter.

"Evening," Vincent muttered and stepped inside.

"Good to see you again, Cloud." Reeve held out a hand.

"You too, Reeve." Cloud reached out and gave a firm handshake. "Come on in."

"Evening Yuffie, Vincent, Reeve!" Tifa gave them a wave. "Okay!" She clapped her hands together. "What does everybody want to drink?"

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

7:30pm

* * *

"Took forever to get 'ere!" The tall man let out a loud laugh and reached over, giving Nanaki a firm pat on the back. "So, I 'eard there's some trouble?"

Nanaki nodded at the guard. "It's fine, he is a good friend." With a tilt of his head, he motioned for Barrettt to follow him.

They made their way across the large, open plain of rock. "You see, there was an invasion by the Gi's ghosts three days ago. Cid has done a fine job of sealing the entrance into the Canyon, but there has been a lot of damage done," he explained. Walking up the first set of steps, he stopped and sat.

Barrettt grimaced as he looked over the open area. "Well, shit. 'Dem ghost 'tings?"

"Yes."

With a loud yawn, Barrettt stretched his arms. "'aight! Lemme 'ave a nap, an' then I'll git' started!"

Nanaki blinked. "You... truly?"

Barrettt stared at the beast as though he had two heads. "You think I came all 'dis way jus' to 'ave a look?"

"I..." He stopped, shaking his head. "Thank you, Barrettt. I appreciate it."

"Damn right you do!" He let out a loud laugh and threw his backpack to the ground. Almost ripping the bag in the process of opening it, he pulled out a sleeping bag and large thermos.

Nanaki blinked. "Surely you don't intend to sleep out here? You're more than welcome to sleep in the observatory," he stated.

Barrett grunted as he rolled open his sleeping bag and took off his jacket. "The las' time we wen' up there, I damn near got stuck in the entrance!"

Laughing, the beast shook his head. "Well, if you change your mind, feel free to head straight up there."

The gunman laid himself out on the closed sleeping back. "Shi', so damn warm."

"If you want anything to eat, just head to the inn. Tell them that you're 'Bugen's aide'."

Barrett popped open his eyes. "'Bugen's aide'?"

"Yes, it's a keyword for the inn's owner. The Canyon is in dire need of funds, but I make exceptions for friends," he explained.

"Naw." Barrett waved a dismissive hand. "Y'need the moolah, I'll jus' go ahead n' pay."

"I appreciate it."

"Yeah, now g'away. Tryin' ta sleep here."

* * *

7th Heaven

7:55pm

* * *

"So, in short, you can expand by approximately ten metres to the left, and the same depth of the current building." Reeve pointed around his roughly drawn plans, giving Tifa and Cloud an idea of the building's future size.

"That's much bigger than I would have thought," Tifa stated. Her eyebrows sat high on her forehead as she looked over to a certain, frowning blond man.

"How much will it cost?" Cloud questioned, ignoring the look Tifa threw his way.

Reeve laughed, then took a long sip of his whiskey. "Nothing. I can't have you guys pay me for this."

"How much _would_ it cost?" Cloud rephrased.

"I can only estimate. If it were a single floor extension, I would say between 145-150k gil. For a double, probably more into the 225-230k region." Reeve glanced around before nodding his head. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Tifa bit her lip. Sure, they had savings totalling much more than that from their travelling days. The issue was that they had saved all that money in case something happened, or if they desperately needed something. A nestegg, in short. Looking over at Cloud, she had a horrible, foreboding feeling that he was about to...

"And you can do it for free?"

She blinked once, twice. "Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged before replying. "I thought it'd be less than that."

Reeve cleared his throat. "Well, as I said, that's an estimate. You'd have to purchase the equipment for the bar yourselves."

"Sounds fair."

"Wait, wait." Tifa shook her head. "You're going to go along with this?"

"Don't see why not. If we're paying for the interior, I don't mind."

"No complaints?"

"None."

"No negotiating or arguing?"

"Nope."

Reeve's eyes bounced between the two before shaking his head of dizziness. "So, I'll work out detailed plans tomorrow and drop them in after work?"

Tifa closed her eyes and let out a long, quiet breath. "We really appreciate this, Reeve."

The older man laughed, shaking his head. "Don't mention it. This will help me too, you know."

Cloud threw the man a pointed glare. "What do you mean?"

"Oh." Reeve coughed and waved his hand. "I just mean that with more customers, there will be more food being bought, therefore more money being dumped into the economy. Not to mention that you'll likely have to hire more staff. It helps everyone."

Cloud thought about his words for a few moments then leaned back into his seat. "Makes sense."

Tifa glanced at the wall clock and let out a sigh. "Sorry, everyone, but would you mind taking a seat at the bar?" She jumped out of her chair, grabbing a number of glasses and running over to the bar, laying them out before grabbing her apron and throwing it around her waist.

Cloud looked as perplexed as everyone else, and looked up the clock. He nodded and stood up, grabbing his own glass. "We're opening soon."

The group let out varying sounds of acknowledgement and walked across the room, making themselves comfortable at the far end of the bar. Marlene and Denzel hopped up from their table behind the group, the older of the two lifting Harcos in his arms. "We'll take Harcos upstairs!"

Cloud smiled and reached over to ruffle Denzel's hair. "Behave up there," he instructed.

"We will! See you later everyone!" Denzel gave the adults a wave.

"Seeya Denz, Marl!" Yuffie yelled back as the two kids jogged up the stairs. "Those two were pretty quiet during dinner."

Cloud slipped behind the bar then lowered the folding counter top, while Tifa worked on drying the plates she'd cleaned from dinner. "I think they felt a little nervous, that's why I wanted Barrett to try and come."

Reeve accepted Cid's offer of a cigarette and slipped the thin stick between his lips. "Oh, Barrett sends his regards. He was taking a few days off from work to visit Cosmo Canyon."

"Did you tell him what happened?" Cloud reached under the counter, flipping on all of the bar's lights, air conditioning units and speakers.

"No, he'd already heard." The older man lit his cigarette and sighed as he blew out a cloud of smoke. "I'm not sure how... because I certainly didn't tell him."

"I didn't," Cid tacked on. "Wasn't me!" Yuffie waved her hands. "Nor myself." Vincent shook his head. "I barely know the man," Shera stated. "It wasn't Marlene or Denzel, and I only had time to ask him if he could come for dinner," Tifa explained.

Cloud rubbed his forehead. "Then who... never mind."

Tifa dried her hands on a towel as she made her way underneath the end of the counter. "We're opening now and I expect it will get busy pretty quickly." She looked over at Cloud and smiled. "Are you ready?"

He shrugged and knocked back the last of his beer; licking his lips, he placed the glass in the sink. "Yeah."

"You can do it, Cloud! I know you're only good at killing people, but serving them ain't hard!" Yuffie pumped a fist, ignoring the blond man's dark glare.

* * *

Healen

9:42pm

* * *

Content with his appearance in the mirror, Reno doused himself in cologne then shot himself a thumbs up and walked into the building's main office. "Who's coming out for a drink?"

Rude shook his head without looking up, thumbing through piles of paperwork. Tseng ignored him outright, while Elena looked at her watch and jumped out of her chair.

"I'll come! It's late and I really want a drink!"

Reno perked an eyebrow at the blonde woman. "You sure? I mean... I'm not sure you can stand up to me when it comes to the juice..."

Elena frowned and slapped a hand on her hip. "I'll have you know that I can handle my drink just fine."

The redhead shrugged and looked over to the main desk. "You coming, boss?"

Rufus shook his head and leaned back in his seat. "I am not in the mood."

"Whatever suits you," he replied. Reno stepped over to his desk and grabbed a set of keys. "Mind if we take the second truck?"

"Reno, if you're going to drink, then do not drive back here. For one, I am not dealing with you drunk and secondly, if you trash the truck, I will have your head." Tseng's tone held no semblance of humour.

"Of course!" The redhead let out an uneasy laugh then turned to Elena and pointed at her chest. "Are you ready, or do you have to make yourself pretty?"

She whimpered as she looked over her uniform. "Do I look that bad?"

"You look fine, Elena," Rude stated. "Don't take him so seriously, you should have learned that by now."

Reno shook his keys in the air. "I am a serious person!"

"I wonder..."

"Reno, Elena." Tseng stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets. The two turned to look at him as he walked around from his desk, coming to stop no more than a foot away from them.

"You will be held personally accountable for any incidents tonight. I don't care what happens, or who starts what." His eyes held a dangerous glint as he looked between them both. "So it is in your best interest to stay out of trouble."

Elena saluted the older man. "Yes, sir!"

Reno smirked. "We'll be good, chief."

* * *

7th Heaven

10:10pm

* * *

The bar had filled out soon after opening; as one person would leave, two would enter in their place. Before long, the entire bar had been packed out, tables and all. Dozens of people stood in small groups, laughing and drinking. It was a strange sight for Cloud, he hadn't seen people this happy or having such a good time in years.

Music blared through the speakers, the sounds of laughter and glasses clinking filling any silence during track changes. Cid and Reeve sat at the far end of the bar; spun to face the front, they leaned back onto the counter, smoking and sipping at whatever spirits Tifa happened to send their way. Yuffie, Shera and Vincent sat a small table playing cards and making small talk. Vincent found himself glancing between each of their glasses, the pains of jealousy burning every fiber of his being.

Cloud was in the middle of pouring a glass of lager when two women came up to the bar. He glanced at them, offering an uncomfortable, practiced smile. He handed a customer his two pint glasses before turning to the women.

He wiped his hands on a dishcloth. "What can I get you?" His practiced tone and question were beginning to flow naturally, he knew he'd have to thank Tifa later.

"Uh..." The blonde woman turned to her brunette friend, nudging her in the side with an elbow.

"Well..." She stopped and looked up at Cloud's now impatient face. "We wanted to know if you're Cloud Strife?"

He blinked, that question had been asked so many times tonight. "Yeah, that's me," he replied.

"Oh... wow." The brunette woman gulped and nudged her friend back. "So... it's true that you're the person who killed that big flying monster thing?"

"_It's not a monster, it's Bahamut."_ He growled under his breath."Yeah."

"Well then, uh... _I_... I mean, _we _wanted to know if you're... seeing anyone?"

His face twisted into a scowl, this conversation had happened too many times tonight and he was more than tired of it. "Yes, I am."

"Oh," they replied in unison. "Who?"

He pointed his thumb to the end of the bar to where Tifa stood laughing at Cid.

Both of their shoulders dropped. "Damn."

The conversation lulled for several seconds before Cloud poised his original question. "What can I get you?"

"Anything... strong," the brunette stated.

He made quick work of two vodka-cokes. "That's 215 gil." After taking their money, he cracked open the till and gave them their change. When they had finally walked off, Cloud took a moment to pour himself another lager then walked over to Tifa's side.

Cid grinned and turned away, handing Reeve another cigarette.

Tifa smiled, turning to face Cloud. "How's it going?"

He took a long swig of his beer before replying. "Fine."

"Did you get that question again?"

"Yeah."

She shook her head before taking a sip of her own drink. "That's going to happen for a while, you'll need to get used to it."

"My business isn't everyone's business, it's not right," he complained.

Tifa leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking him in a long, wet kiss. Cid let out a loud wolf whistle and laughed as Cloud kicked the bar. "Shut up," he attempted to tell the pilot, but his words were lost between Tifa's lips.

She slowly pulled back and laughed at his now placid expression. "Better now?"

Cloud nodded as Yuffie thumped on the bar. "Can we get some service over here? Stop makin' out and get back to work!"

Cid interjected and flicked the girl's ear. "Shu'up Yuff!" He roared. "Let 'em do their thing, you can make your own damn drinks!"

She rubbed at her now red ear. "I'm a paying customer!"

"What do you want, Yuffie?" Cloud asked, glad that he stood in the shadows for fear of his blush showing.

Yuffie slammed her shoulder into Cid, knocking the pilot clean off of his seat to the floor. "Zolom blood, on the rocks with lemon."

"You lucky you're jus' a girl, else I'd kick your tiny ass..." Cid grumbled as he stood up, rubbing his aching butt.

"Aww, poor Cid!" Yuffie smirked at the man.

Cloud interjected. "Cut it out, or get out."

They both looked at the man, then back at each other.

"Hey, it worked!" Yuffie laughed as Cid slapped a hand on her shoulder. "Well, shit! Din't think it would!" The pilot roared with laughter.

Cloud fisted his hands.

"Hey! How about some service over here?"

His fists began to shake from the sound of the all too familiar voice. He stomped down to the other end of the bar. "Why are you here?" he rasped.

Reno turned to an embarrassed Elena and shrugged. "We don't want any trouble, just some drinks."

Tifa handed Yuffie her drink and turned around, only to find Cloud talking to Reno. Knowing this would most definitely not end well, she rushed over to his side and grabbed his shaking fist.

"Hello Reno, Elena." Tifa gave them a smile while squeezing his hand as hard she could manage. Arching her neck to him, she whispered in his ear. "It's okay, we'll just serve them drinks and see how it goes. If anything happens, then you can go ahead and throw them out."

Cloud glanced at her and gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. What do you want?"

Reno leaned on the bar, rubbing his chin. "I'll have... something tropical."

Elena hopped up onto a stool and looked around for several seconds. "I think I'll have a lager, please!"

Tifa went to work on mixing a cocktail while Cloud filled a glass and passed it over to Reno. "That's 400gil."

The redhead perked an eyebrow. "400gil? For two drinks?"

Cloud smirked. "You can always find somewhere else to drink."

"Oh well, guess I've gotta cough up." He pulled a 500gil note from his shirt pocket and handed it to Cloud.

"Here you go." Tifa placed a tall cocktail glass down in front of the man.

"Thanks a lot, we'll just go and sit somewhere else." The redhead threw a wave over his shoulder as he edged through the crowd of people.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Cloud!" Elena nervously giggled and used her height to her advantage, ducking under people's arms.

Cloud growled and quickly emptied his own pint glass. "I don't like this," he stated.

Tifa grabbed his hand again and gave him a squeeze. "Just try not to think about it."

With a sigh, he nodded. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Reviews with comments, con-crit or anything are always welcome! Feed the inspiration!**

**So, not much happened this chapter, but I wanted to try out having a situation with a lot of people around. Not easy at all. Still, Tifa and Cloud will soon be expanding the 7th Heaven, **Barrett**t's gone to Cosmo Canyon to help out Nanaki, Cid and Shera have come to Edge to get some parts and Reeve is being quite good-willed about paying for everything. Damn right, too! Ex-Shinra spy.**

**I was on the fence about the part with the two women coming onto Cloud. But then I thought... come on, he was in the sky fighting a huge-ass dragon. People noticed and word would have spread. **

**Next chapter will include what happens at the bar with Reno around. Nothing good ever comes from him, so... we shall see. ;) More from Cosmo Canyon, and a nice change for Cloud, Tifa, Marlene and Denzel. **

**All the best.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations. Heheheh.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

* * *

7th Heaven

12:05pm

* * *

Over the last thirty minutes the bar had quietened down drastically. Tables were still full, the bar seats occupied by friends, but the floor was almost empty. Several drunks had been escorted out by Cloud and Vincent. Perhaps due to the fact that they were tall, angry looking men, there hadn't been any arguments with the man-handling.

Cid had fallen asleep on the bar, with Shera propped up against him doing the same. Yuffie was still going strong, even after her twelth drink and dispite constant hiccups. Reeve was drunkenly discussing the subtleties of the fairer sex, mainly by the use of his finger and several well-endowed women sat around. Vincent stared at his glass of water, willing it to turn to vodka.

Reno and Elena sat in the far right corner; gradually their conversation had drifted further and further off course, until they ended up making stupid faces at each other and snorting booze from their noses.

Tifa had given up on hand-washing for the night, resorting to filling the dishwasher whenever it was desperately needed. She would look between Cloud and Reno and sigh; his pointed glares were far more desirable than a fist fight.

Cloud was feeling the effects of his three pints. Relaxed, but still mentally alert. The Turks always made him uneasy, there was a reason he didn't want them in the bar. So he watched with a suspicious eye, waiting for something to happen so he could throw the man out.

It didn't take long before that _something_ happened.

"Elene...enenia." He let out a quiet belch. "I'm tellin ya, I can have any woomah... woman I want!" Reno stood and smacked his lips together, attempting to make himself look somewhat decent before trying, and failing to look cool while walking over to the two young women beside them.

"Hi there, you two are looking lovely tonight," he slurred.

One of the girls looked down at her glass, sipping her drink, while the other looked up to him with a raised eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

Reno adjusted his non-existant tie and winked. "I was just thinkin'... you two look kinda lonely, want some company?"

Elena jumped out of her seat and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Reno... maybe you should sit down."

He nodded and turned to her. "Listen, sweetie, I know what I'm doin'."

The girls at the table threw him a glare. "You're coming on to us, with your girlfriend right there?"

"G-girlfriend? You got it all wr...wrong. She's my partner!" He threw an arm around Elena's neck and pulled her into him, grinning the whole while.

"Partner?" She glared at Elena. "How could you marry a guy like that?"

Voices were raising and other people had started to turn their attention to the pair.

"Me, m-marry Reno?" Elena blushed.

"H-hey... I know she's cute an' all, and she's got a _hell_ of an ass..." Reno dropped his arm to give said ass a hard smack.

"Reno!" Elena cried, backing away from him.

Cloud only had to look at Tifa. She just sighed and nodded. "Go ahead, he's out of line."

He didn't waste any time. Leaping over the counter in a single, fluid motion, he stomped over to the end of the room. Grabbing Reno by upper arm, he dragged him toward the door. "You're leaving." He yanked the door open and flung the man out onto the pavement.

Elena turned to Cloud and gave him a long, meaningful bow. "I'm so sorry... I did... did... I apologise for Reno!"

He turned to her and crossed his arms, attempting to wipe the frown from his face. "Not your fault, just tell him he isn't welcome here again." When she finally lifted her head, he spotted a small tear in the corner of her eye.

Elena blinked. "W-what do you mean?"

He wasn't going to delve any further into the matter, saying what he did was more than he cared to, he just felt sorry for the woman. "I'll be calling Tseng in the morning."

She felt her stomach drop. "Oh no..."

His teeth ground together as he sucked in a deep breath. "I'll be honest about what happened."

Relief washed over her. "T-thank you, Mr. Cloud." She gave him a brief wave before running, then stopping and shaking her head of dizziness before slowly walking out of the bar.

"Nice, Cloud! Never liked that guy!" Reeve roared from the bar, clapping in a highly overexaggerated manner.

With them gone, he finally felt his shoulders relax. He turned to the two women and apologised. Nervously scratching the back of his neck, his stomach dropped as he realised who the two women were.

"Oh... my... you can throw people around too? You're so strong..."

He began moving back to the bar when a hand collided with his butt. Scowling, he turned to the two girls, his voice holding no semblance of humour. "Don't do that again."

Tifa felt her chest tighten as the woman touched him. Slamming her hands on the counter, she called out to everyone. "We're closing now! No last orders tonight I'm afraid, we've been open far longer than normal!"

A series of loud complaints were heard as people knocked back the last of their drinks and took their time filing out of the doors. Cloud didn't bother with the entranceway, opting to jump over the countertop instead. "Closing?"

Tifa nodded and focused her attention on the dirty glasses in front of her. "Yeah, we're closing. It's late and I'm tired, aren't you?"

Cloud shrugged and picked up cutlery from around the griddle. "I used to be on the bike for days."

She hummed in response and went to work filing the glasses in the dishwasher.

Minutes passed as the last of the patrons left. Vincent took the liberty of flipping the door sign then moved back to his colleagues. "Yuffie, Reeve, we're going." He helped the former up by the hand, while Reeve threw his arm loosely around Vincent's neck.

"Thanks for tonight, guys!" Yuffie grinned at the two behind the bar before dropping in line beside an inebriated Reeve.

"Take care!" Tifa called out; giving them a brief wave as they stepped outside, she turned to look down at Cid and Shera. Pursing her lips, she glanced at Cloud before nodding at the two. "Should we wake them?"

"No point, they can take the sofa upstairs if they wake up," Cloud stated. He'd finished dumping the dirty cutlery in the dishwasher, and was now washing his hands.

Tifa gave the work surfaces a final wipe down, then chucked the dirty cloth into the sink. "Oh no... we were so busy, I forgot to tuck Marlene and Denzel in." She sighed and rubbed her forehead, there was nothing she hated more than forgetting to tuck them in at night.

Cloud smirked as he dried his hands. "I went up to check on them earlier, they were talking to Harcos in bed, so I tucked them in."

"You did?" Blinking, Tifa switched the dishwasher on.

He nodded and yanked off his apron. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." With no regard for where it landed, he tossed it towards the storeroom.

Relieved, she leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder, then flicked his jaw with her tongue. "Let's go to bed," she whispered.

He felt a familiar stirring in his stomach. "I thought you were tired," he whispered back.

"Mmm..." She reached around his waist and gently ran her tongue in small circles around his neck.

He sighed with pleasure and ran his hands along the smooth counter. After fumbling around, he found the various switches and turned off the lights. She dug her teeth into his collarbone."Let's go upstairs," he groaned.

They made short work of the stairs, only pausing in the hallway to peek into the kid's room. Denzel laid on his front, drooling on his pillow, while Marlene laid on her back, with Harcos beside her, his head on her shoulder.

"They look so peaceful," Tifa whispered, her doting gaze not shifting from their sleeping forms.

Cloud nodded from above her; lowering his head, he pressed a soft kiss into Tifa's hair before looking up once again. "Night Denzel, Marlene, Harcos." He noticed Harcos shift in his sleep, and smiled as he backed away from the door. Tifa followed soon afterwards, their footsteps barely audible as they shuffled down the hallway.

Harcos stretched his short legs and whimpered in his sleep. A thin sliver of moonlight pierced through the closed curtains, irritating his eyes. He shuffled onto his other side and nuzzled Marlene's arm.

"Night, Cwoud," his quiet voice mumbled.

* * *

7th Heaven

The next day, 6:40pm

* * *

"Do you want barbecue sauce, or ketchup?" Tifa called from the bar, tossing several thick burgers on the smoking griddle.

"Ketchup, please!" Reeve replied, chewing on the eraser from his pencil. He looked up for a brief moment and noticed a large, red welt on Tifa's neck. "What happened to your neck?"

Tifa bit her tongue. She knew he was being too rough. "Oh, nothing! A box fell from a shelf earlier." After clearing her throat, she flipped the half-toasted burger buns.

Tifa had been coerced into remaining silent during this talk. She hadn't been happy with the way Cloud had worded his request, but she _could _see his point. When it came to technical details, Cloud knew what he was talking about. So, she just focused on making sure her homemade burgers were cooked to tender perfection.

Cloud swirled his whiskey and lemonade before taking a sip and placing the glass down on the bar. "When can the works begin?"

Reeve yanked several printed pages from his briefcase, humming as he read through his schedule. "We have a three week slot with the necessary equipment available in... let me see... oh, a week." He blinked.

Cloud groaned. "A week? There's no way we can find somewhere to stay that quickly."

The older man scratched his head and grimaced. "That's a problem. I don't have anything else available for the next three months. So, it's either now or then."

The blonde squeezed the bridge of his nose. "No choice, then."

"You know," Tifa spoke up, drawing herself a strange look from between Cloud's fingers. "We could always stay in the villa."

He slowly lowered his hand, perking a confused eyebrow. "What villa?"

Tifa tilted her head. "At the Costa del Sol," she replied. "Hmm... but then..."

"...Harcos." The blond scratched his cheek.

Reeve sorted his crumpled papers into one tall pile. "Why not talk to Nanaki? I'm sure he'd understand the situation."

Cloud pondered the suggestion for a few seconds. "If we go by car, then take the boat, it should be alright."

Tifa slipped two plates onto the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. "I'll go and call him now, feel free to start without me."

The men reached for their burgers as she made her way upstairs.

"So, business aside, how are things?" Reeve grabbed a handful of salad and shoved it inside his burger bun.

Cloud did the same. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Yeah, fine."

Reeve shrugged and focused on eating his burger. Cloud never was the talkative type, let alone one for discussing personal matters. Not that it bothered him, Cloud had more reasons than most to keep things to himself. Probably because he didn't understand what he was feeling a majority of the time. Well, that was Reeve's understanding of the man, anyway.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Reeve coughed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Sorry about that, was just thinking."

Cloud eyed him with a degree of suspicion as he took a bite of his own burger, paying no mind to the juices running down his chin.

"You know, you should try to be more talkative. Working in a bar and all, it's something you're going to have to learn."

Cloud frowned as he swallowed a mouthful. "What do you mean? I say what I need to say."

"Nothing." Reeve took another huge mouthful of his burger and sighed. "Muffin at awll."

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

7:00pm

* * *

"Oi! What're you doin'? Dun' leave shit lyin' around in doorways!" Barrett pointed his good arm at a worker, who for the lack of a better word, looked terrified.

"Y-yes, M-Mr. Barrett, sir!" The young man pressed up against the stone walls.

Barrett scratched his head and growled. "Look, I ain't gonna hurt ya or nothin', you jes' gotta be more careful, son." He threw the teenager a wave over his shoulder as he ducked through the small doorways and made his way out onto the veranda.

Lynnea slipped through the same doorway not long afterwards and spotted the tall man sat on the edge of the veranda. "How is it going, Barrett?"

He turned his head and threw the female a grin. "Yea, s'goin' okay. Jes' needed to teach 'em some basics, y'know how it is."

She came up to his side and laid down beside him. "We are really glad that you came." Glancing down to his arm, she felt she had to ask, having never seen it before. "I don't mean to be rude, but how does it feel?"

Barrett followed her gaze and sighed. "Y'get used to it." He lifted his arm and shifted his muscles, unravelling the metal hand into a three barrelled gun. "Like pressure on my elbow, s'though someone's pullin' on it. Don't hurt to change it from hand to gun, though."

She nodded. "May I ask what it fires? I cannot see any ammunition."

"Ah, yeah. I used to carry a crapload o' ammo wit' me. Old guns, y'know." He reached up to his bicep and pulled down the fabric covering the joint. Marred skin melded with metal at the joint, as though the metal and his skin had joined. "Dis' one though, it fires spirit energy. I get kinda tired if I'm firin' for a long while."

Lynnea frowned. "Spirit energy?"

He noticed her look and smirked. "S'ok. It takes m'own spirit energy, when the shells land, 'dey join back with the planet some'ow. Recharges when I sleep."

She laid her head on her paws and looked down over the Canyon. "Interesting, how on earth did you come up with that concept?"

The man visibly stiffened. "Rufus... I dun' like sayin' 'dat asshole's name, but shit... it's a good idea, y'know?"

Nodding, she stood up. "Mmm, it certainly is." She stretched out her long legs, shaking her body free of dust. "Oh, what has become of me... Nanaki is talking to Tifa at the moment, perhaps you would like to speak with Marlene?"

"Where is he?"

"At the weapon's shop. It's currently the only place with a phone line that is working."

He was gone before she could say anything else.

* * *

7th Heaven

7:15pm

* * *

"Nanaki? It's Tifa."

"_Hello, Tifa. How are you?"_

"I'm doing just fine, how are things over there?"

"_Everything is going well. Barrett arrived last night and has been helping out with reconstruction, he has been a huge help."_

She smiled and reclined into the sofa. "I'm glad, everyone's been worried."

"_Oh, no. There's no need to worry. It will just take time to return things to how they were."_

"Well, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."

"_Thank you, I will."_

The line went silent for several seconds.

"_Is there anything you needed?"_

"Oh, sorry." She sat up straight. "Reeve's going to be adding an extension to the building starting next week, the problem is that we'll have to leave for three weeks."

"_I see, but I'm not sure I understand why you needed to talk to me about this."_

She nibbled on her lower lip. "Well, the only place we have to stay is at the Costa Del Sol."

"_Ah."_

"We weren't sure if taking Harcos with us would be an issue or not."

"_No. It's fine."_

She blinked. "Really?"

"_Yes. I..." H_e paused for several moments. _"It is hard to explain."_

Tifa frowned. "Well, go ahead and try. I'm not going to judge you."

She heard him sigh. _"I... don't want Harcos to see his place as it is now. Our species is used to travelling and change, but I..." _He sighed once again. "_Like I said, it is hard to explain."_

Her fingernails ran along the ridged surface on the back of the phone. "I'm not sure I understand, but in short, you don't want Harcos to be there right now?"

"_More or less, yes."_

Tifa didn't like not knowing what was happening. There was enough mystery in her life with Cloud around, let alone a close friend not being able to talk to her. Still, she knew that it was best not to push it.

A loud bang through the earpiece made her jump. "_Oi! Fleabag! Lemme talk to Marlene!"_

She couldn't help but shake her head and laugh. "Barrett's doing just fine, then."

Nanaki returned the laugh. _"Yes, he's okay. I'll put him on the line."_

She stood up and made her way over to the kid's bedroom. "Okay. I'll call again soon to let you know the details."

"_Tifa? Yo! How's things?"_

"Hey, Barrett! Things are just great, I'll pass you over to Marlene."

She knocked on the door before pushing it open. Denzel was sat on the floor with Harcos, laughing as the pup played pass with a ball. Marlene was sat on the bed, reading a book of some sort. "Marlene, your papa's on the phone."

The little girl jumped off of the bed, knocking the book to the floor in the process and ran over to Tifa. She just laughed and handed the small girl her phone. "You two be good, I'm going back downstairs. If you need anything, just come and get me."

Denzel turned around and smiled. "We will, thanks Tifa!"

She made her way back down to the bar, a burger with all of her favourite toppings silently beckoned her.

"We'll need a car to drive to Junon, do you know anywhere we can rent one?" Cloud asked.

Reeve rested an elbow on the bar, holding his glass to his lips with his spare hand. "Yeah, you can borrow mine. I'll just ride with Yuffie and Vincent in the mornings."

Cloud knocked back the last drops of his drink and wiped his mouth clean with a napkin. "You sure?"

The older man waved a hand. "I don't really need to drive to work with it being so close, anyway."

"What's this about?" Tifa walked through the bar and wasted no time in grabbing her plate.

Cloud turned and threw her a smile. "Reeve's gonna lend us his car to drive to Junon."

She blinked and looked over at the older man. "Really?"

He nodded. "Like I said to Cloud, I don't really need the car."

Cloud jumped off of his stool and grabbed his apron from the counter. "Well, we've gotta get ready for tonight. Cid and Shera should be back soon, too."

Tifa followed him with her eyes. "I thought they went home?"

"Cid needed that engine part, so he's stopping off to grab something to eat before leaving." He slipped under the counter and flipped on the lights.

She smirked as he stood back up and pulled himself a pint. "I never realised you paid so much attention, Cloud."

His brows knotted together. "I've always paid attention."

Reeve couldn't help but laugh. Cloud just grunted and looked away, taking a long sip of his drink.

* * *

7th Heaven

11:30pm

* * *

After waving off Cid and Shera, the pair made their way back into the bar and locked up. With a tired sigh, Tifa dropped herself at their table and sipped from her ice-cold glass.

"It's never been that busy, two nights in a row." Her slim legs crossed at the ankle as she reclined into her chair.

Cloud hummed in acknowledgment.

Her gaze lifted to him. "Are you okay?"

Arms folded, he leaned against the door. His eyes were closed in thought, not listening to anything other than the thoughts that ran through his mind.

Tifa frowned with concern. "Cloud, are you alright?"

His eyes snapped open. Looking over to her, he gave a slow nod. "I'm... gonna take a shower."

She bit her cheek as he slipped behind the bar and made his way up the stairs. He had been acting strangely since the bar had opened. At first, she thought that maybe he was just in a bad mood. He wouldn't ask people what they wanted to drink, instead he would wait until they told him. He barely responded to her small kisses or touches, even less her words to him.

His moods were something that, previously, she would simply ignore. As they had gotten closer, she had learned to understand the reasons he would become moody, or less talkative. Tonight, though, she couldn't work out why he had suddenly started acting this way. She sighed once more and stood up. After a long, tired yawn, she picked up her glass and made her way upstairs. A quiet sound of snoring came from the kids room, so she didn't risk opening the creaky door to check on them. Instead, she made her way along the hallway and into their bedroom.

He hadn't closed the door to the bathroom, leaving a trail of his clothes on his way there. She took a moment to remove her own clothes; the sound of running water caused her eyes to fall shut, imagining the feeling of being under the steaming water was enough to relax her.

A sound of shuffling beside her caused her eyes to crack open.

"Forgot to get underwear," Cloud mumbled. Clad only in a towel, drops of water clinging to his back and neck. She had to bite her lip as he shuffled through his chest of drawers.

Moments later, he began walking back to the bathroom. She wasn't sure why, but she slid up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Tifa?" His eyes fell shut; the feel of her almost topless body pressed against him made it hard for him to concentrate on anything.

She nuzzled his firm back, paying no mind to the water that wet her cheek and hair. "I know something's wrong, why won't you tell me?"

He sighed and fisted his fingers around a pair of boxers. "Because I'm afraid of what you'll say."

Blinking, she kissed his spine before resting her forehead against him. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to bite."

"I..." He stopped, taking a moment to swallow the awkward lump in his throat. Shaking his head, he tried to step forward. "It's stupid. Don't worry."

She tightened her hold, not allowing him to move. "If it's bothering you, then it's not stupid. You should never be afraid of telling me anything."

He bit back another sigh and shook his head. It was stupid, and he knew it. Worse still, it would probably make her angry, and she would definately misunderstand.

"Cloud," she whispered.

"I..." His head fell back, staring at the ceiling light. "It's hard to explain."

She slid around his body and pulled him towards the bed. Releasing her hold, she sat down on the end and patted the area next to her. He dropped down onto the mattress and leaned forward on his elbows.

It took a lot of strength for her to say it, but she knew she had to be honest with him. "Is it that you don't want to be here?"

He turned to look at her with a frown. "No, why would you think that?"

She felt relief, but tried her best not to show it. "You looked so unhappy tonight, I thought you wanted to be anywhere but here." Her hands clasped together as she rocked back and forth.

Turning away again, he ran a hand through his sopping wet hair. "I was unhappy, but not... because of that." He almost wanted to laugh at himself. Trying to explain his feelings was a task he never enjoyed, and therefore avoided it at all costs. But he couldn't do that any more, and he knew it.

"What is it then?" She stopped rocking and edged herself over to his side. A hand reached under his arm and squeezed his thigh. "Did something happen?"

"I saw..." He took a deep breath. "I saw a bunch of guys looking... at you, when..." He shook his head and growled. "I can't do this, sorry."

He hopped up and stomped back into the bathroom. Throwing his towel to the floor, he shut the door and locked it before stepping back into the shower's scalding water.

Tifa perked an eyebrow and grinned to herself. "_Cloud, jealous?"_ She bit back a snicker and stood up, walking to the bathroom door. "Are you jealous?"

He didn't reply.

"Cloud, are you jealous?" Working in a bar drew a lot of stares. She wasn't oblivious to that fact, hence the change in her clothing. Her leather jacket covered her body up more than enough, unlike her old top which left nothing to the imagination when she would lean over.

Minutes passed and running water was the only sound she could hear. Another few minutes passed. The water finally stopped running and she could hear quiet shuffling on the tiled floor.

"You know," she said. Leaning against the doorframe, she scuffed her bare feet across the carpet. "There have been lots of women asking you on dates in the last two night. One even grabbed your butt. Don't you think that I get a bit jealous, too?"

The door's lock snapped open, along with the door itself. Cloud stepped out in his boxers and turned his eyes to her. "Why would you be jealous?"

She perked an eyebrow and poked him in the ribs. "No-one's allowed to touch you but me."

He flinched and rubbed the sore spot. "They were just drunk," he stated.

"So are the guys that only _look_ at me!"

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She stepped up to him and reached her arms around his neck, making a pointed effort of pushing as much of herself against him as possible. She grinned as his eyes rolled back into his head. "I'm just glad that you're here now in case anyone tries to start anything."

"You make it sound like you need me to be here," he muttered.

"I do." She kissed his smooth chest. "Maybe not to protect me from drunks, but I do need you here with me."

His arms reached around her lower back, before grabbing her butt and hoisting her up. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist as he drew her into a firm kiss. A growl tore through his throat as she bit into his bottom lip.

"W-wait." He pulled away, doing his best to avoid her lips as he fought to get his words out. "We need to discuss what we'll tell Marlene and Denz, Tifa."

She dug her heels into his thighs. "We've got all day tomorrow, so just take me to bed," she laughed.

He smiled. "Sure."

* * *

**A/N:**

_**Reviews with comments, con-crit or anything are always welcome! Feed the inspiration!**_

**Like it says in the description, this is a family-oriented fic. Looking at life together rather than crazy relationship struggles. Poor guys have been through enough crap. I'm trying to keep the drama aspect to a minimum while keeping interesting things happening. If you're expecting big fights/arguments like earlier chapters, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. Those were necessary, but I don't have anything else planned that's too similar at all. **

**Barrett's gun-arm part was totally written with creative license. I thought the spirit energy part was quite good, a recyclable weapon and all. Seems fitting for him.**

**So, yeah. Harcos spoke. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.**

* * *

7th Heaven

Six days later, 7:00pm

* * *

"Five pairs of shorts, seven t-shirts, seven pairs of boxers and all the socks as I have..." Denzel ticked his way through the long list Tifa had made, making sure everything was packed just as instructed.

The boy was more than excited; wearing a constant smile as the last few days had passed by. He'd never been on a real vacation, or even left Edge since Midgar's destruction. There had been so many times he wanted to jump on Fenrir with Cloud and bolt around the world; exploring the sights and watching Cloud fight monsters.

"Pyjamas." He spun from his bed and ran to the wardrobe; tearing open the doors, he went to work grabbing both pairs and folding them as neatly as possible.

Harcos laid next to his large, black duffle bag on the bed; his fluffy tail flicking left and right.

Denzel stuffed the clothes into the bag and fought to close the zipper. "Are you looking forward to it, Harcos?"

The pup sniffed, rolling onto his side.

"Yeah, I know you are!" The boy jumped backwards onto the bed beside the feline, rubbing his smooth tummy. "We can go swim in the sea, I've never seen the sea before! Then we can go motor boating or surfing!"

There was a quiet knock at the door. He cut short and looked up to find blond, spiky hair poking through the small gap.

"Do you need any help packing, Denz?" The older man offered.

"Nope! I've got everything Tifa said to get." He lifted his piece of paper covered with ticks for the older man to see.

Cloud edged the creaky door open and strode in; after taking the sheet, he gave it a brief look and nodded. "I'll double check it while you eat your dinner, Tifa made egg salad."

"Okay!" Denzel pumped a fist into the air and bolted out of his room, the sound of his small footsteps on the stairs echoing through the house.

He sat at the end of the boys bed and turned to grab the bag, but instead came face to face with Harcos. Startled, he sucked in a sharp breath. "Wh... Harcos. Didn't see you there."

The pup edged his way around the bag to sit on Cloud's knee.

The older man reached up to give the pup's chest a good, firm scratch. "I wonder if you're looking forward to this. I don't know if you even understand what's going on."

Harcos rolled himself along Cloud's thigh to lay across both legs with his feet in the air.

The house was eerily quiet. Marlene and Tifa had gone shopping for more clothing hours ago; Cloud knew all too well that they wouldn't be home anytime soon. With Denzel eating... well, it was the only time the young lad was quiet for a decent period of time. Not that Cloud minded either way, seeing him having fun these days was like a breath of fresh air.

Often, he would find himself watching with fascination when Tifa, Marlene and Denzel would play together. He didn't truly understand those feelings, even if he had a good idea; regardless, he certainly liked them.

"It's weird." He spoke quietly. "I don't know what I'd do without them; would I be the same person I am? Would I even be alive?" He sighed. "Everyone thinks I'm invincible..." His hands came to a stop on the pup's belly; staring at the floor and seeing nothing. "...but all my strength is in my muscles."

The pup licked at the back of his hand, staring at him with an eerie intensity.

Cloud turned his gaze to meet the pup's; he offered a half smile. "Miss your parents, huh?"

Harcos nodded.

"Your parents are doing their best right now, you just need to give 'em some time."

He sniffed in response; lifting himself to sit on Cloud's lap, he nuzzled the man's neck.

Carefully, Cloud placed a hand on the pup's back. "You'll see them soon."

Minutes passed slowly, quietly. Only the occasional car passing outside, or a quiet sniff from Harcos would break the comfortable silence.

"What's wrong?" Denzel asked; standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets.

Cloud snapped his head up and gave him a small smile. "Harcos misses his parents."

Denzel stepped across the room and sat beside Cloud. Pulling his hands from his pockets, he reached around Cloud's front to stroke the pup's back. "I think about my parents too, sometimes."

The older man looked down to Denzel; the smiles vanished from their faces.

"I dunno what it would be like if they were here..." He bit bad familiar feelings, his nose tingling as images of his parents, Midgar, the attacks all came flooding in at once. "I'm really happy that I've got Cloud, Tifa and Marlene. I really am! But... " He leaned into Cloud's chest. "I have a picture, but..."

Cloud reached his free arm around the boys back, giving his shoulder a firm, comforting squeeze. He never knew how to handle this situation; what to say or do to make him feel better. Tifa had told him that over time, he would learn to deal with his feelings, to accept them, but they would never go away.

She was right. On occasion, he'd find himself thinking about his mother. It hurt to think, but it was comforting to remember her, knowing that her memory wasn't some false memory. He couldn't fully picture her face, though he could picture her general features. Brown eyes, dark blonde hair, a small, button nose. It wasn't quite as bad with his father, as he never knew the man. Though he still wondered what he was like, now and again.

Was he still alive?

Shaking his head of his thoughts, he let out a silent sigh. He looked between the two kids, with no idea of how to comfort them; two kids, both missing their parents. So he sat in a familiar, powerless silence, knowing there was nothing he could do or say to help.

A couple of hours passed as the sun retreated over the horizon. Both children had fallen asleep long ago, dozing through the racket Tifa and Marlene had made when they returned.

After packing all of their new clothes, Tifa had poked her head into the bedroom, curious about the lack of noise. Upon seeing the sight, it wasn't hard for her to understand what was going on; Cloud's face spoke volumes. They shared a bittersweet smile before she left him in peace.

She walked to the kitchen and began wiping down the work surfaces from dinner.

Denzel's feelings had shown through much more in recent months. At first, she had assumed it was because of her relationship with Cloud; worried she was alienating the young boy from his role model. However, as time passed, she began to realise that her own feelings from when her father had died were the same as the young boy's. He was growing older, beginning to question and understand the reality of what had happened.

Shinra had taken his parents, just as they had Marlene's mother. Sephiroth had taken her father, just as he had taken Cloud's mother. Despite Shinra's downfall and Sephiroth's death, it did nothing to fill the gaping hole in their hearts. So many things had been stolen from them both, things that they could never recover.

A single, pent up tear rolled down her cheek as a hand reached over to hold hers.

"You've been wiping that spot for a long time," Cloud muttered; his tired eyes locked onto hers. Even to him, it was clear that they were mulling over the same, sad thoughts.

Tifa let out a short breath, dropping her eyes to their hands. She reached over, placing her free hand on his. "How is Denzel?"

Cloud sidestepped behind her. "Sleeping," he whispered.

She reached around to grab his wrist; pulling his arm around her waist. The late night silence of the apartment gave them nothing to focus on, nothing to distract them from their bitter memories. His head fell to rest in the crook of her neck; his eyes unseeing.

"I miss Mom and Dad," she murmured.

He nodded, gritting his teeth. "I know."

"I don't want Denzel to feel this way." Her head tilted to nuzzle his cheek; another lone tear fell, lost in the contact of their skin.

Minutes passed as he fought to hold back his own feelings of sadness and weakness. Swallowing, he felt the burdensome question that he'd avoided for so long tugging at the forefront of his mind. Fear ate away at his resolve as it began to form on his tongue. "Tifa," he muttered.

"Mmm?"

"What..." He swallowed and took in a quiet, resolute breath. He had to know. "What did... my Mom look like?"

She sucked in a shaky breath. "She was pretty. You have her eyes, and nose." Her lips trembled as he tightened his hold on her. "Her lips were quite thin, and she had pale skin with rosy cheeks. Her hair was a lighter blonde than yours and was always in a long ponytail."

He ground his teeth together; his heart beating in his ears. That wasn't how he had pictured her at all. Fighting to hold his tears back was a fight he couldn't win. Not this time. "I..." He trembled, cursing himself for his weakness wasn't helping to bury the feelings. "I can't... remember her," he muttered.

A tear rolled along his cheek; she gasped a quiet sob as it met hers. She had never in her life seen him, a man so strong, cry. Her stomach lurched as she spun around pulling him into a tight embrace. She bit deep into her lip; cradling his head against her neck as he stood there, unmoving.

Several quiet minutes passed before he spoke."We'll always be here for him," he muttered into her skin.

She nodded, grasping at his neck. "We will," she replied. "And for each other."

He didn't move. "Thanks, Tifa."

Her fingertips ran small circles on his neck. "Don't thank me."

Voice barely audible, he muttered. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise, either." A familiar, comforting warmth flowed through her. She exhaled, nuzzling his neck.

"What do you mean?" His hold around her waist tightened.

Tifa smiled and sniffed. "I love you, so you don't have to be sorry."

He felt the weight of his thoughts disperse for a short while; left with that feeling that her words always instilled. "Thanks, Tifa."

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'll update this story faster than last time, writing a scene like this is tough, and honestly, I'm not all that happy with it. It's hard to tell when I'm being critical, or pedantic after a while. Any thoughts will be VERY much welcome, I would really appreciate it, even if you don't normally review. Criticism is important to me on new stuff. (Though if you blatantly flame, I will do the same back.) I reply to all reviews, so please drop me one!**

**I needed to do a transition like this. My main goal for this story is to delve into the feelings of the characters, to explore the parts we don't see and give it my own spin. **

**I've been working on an M rated one-shot to accompany chapter 3. If you're into that sort of thing (Explicit), it'll be up soon, stick me on Author Alert.**

**Until next time in the sun and sand (and a lot more lighthearted): Costa Del Sol!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Rated T:** I can't promise pristine language, nor can I promise the absence of violence... or comprimising situations.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these characters, names of towns or anything related to Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix and such. I do, however, own my original characters.

_**Pre-A/N: Since my inbox is getting a few questions regarding later chapters, I'm adding this in at the start.**_

_**FFVII isn't just AC.**_

_**Advent Children is a tiny span of time after the epic events of the games. If you haven't played the games and only seen the movie, I really do suggest playing it. Else you won't understand some of the things going on here now, or in later chapters.**_

* * *

Road to Junon

5:35am

* * *

Our original plan was to leave during late morning; that way we could all get some sleep and prepare for the long ride to Junon. The downside to driving there by car was that we couldn't take the mountain path I usually take on Fenrir. It's not that big of a deal, really. The journey time is only a little longer, and we can take the new bridge along the west coast.

We're almost at the bridge now, two hours into the drive. As I said, the plan had been to leave late morning. However, the night before left me restless, so I decided we'd leave early. It didn't bother anyone too much; Denzel's asleep in the front passenger seat, Tifa sleeping with Marlene across the back seats.

I'm just coasting along the silent roads, enjoying the ride. It feels like years since I'd taken on such a long journey, when in reality, it's only been a few weeks. Reeve's car is great to drive, a simple black saloon with a black fabric interior. The engine could barely be heard through the vehicle, just an occasional choke and cough as I switched gears. The smell of engine oil and gas is comforting. To me, anyway.

The radio had stopped working a long while ago, the range on Edge's station wasn't far at all, but it kept me entertained for a few minutes, since I couldn't count on any bickering, laughing or talking from anyone in the car.

I look around the car, using the large wind-mirrors to scout monsters. "Not very active tonight," I mumble to myself.

If I were to be totally honest with myself, driving really is quite boring. I check the mirrors every few seconds, hoping, praying that some beast will appear, allowing me a few minutes away from the mind-numbing monotony.

* * *

Cosmo Canyon

6:14am

* * *

There are numerous advantages to my race; agility, reflexes and strength. We can scale buildings and rock faces, avoiding falling debris with ease. I'm grateful for what I am in many ways, but the foremost reason is that I can visit my father whenever I wish. When I had first arrived back home, I couldn't bring myself to visit him. Saying I was ashamed of myself would be a vast understatement.

The air is cold this morning, a biting wind cutting through the Canyon, but now I feel an overwhelming sense of peace standing here, with him. Grandfather had said that he continues to protect us, even as he is now. At first, I hadn't questioned this. He single-handedly fought off an entire invading tribe at the cost of his own life.

I often ask myself: Is... this really so? Thinking back to when I had returned to the Canyon with Cloud; tears fell from his eyes. As the days passed I often wondered if this affliction on my father could be cured.

He is here, standing beside me. His soul is still here, with him.

Of course, I have discussed these thoughts with Lynnea. She had been one of the few survivors of the Gi tribe's attack, escaping to the dense forests south of the Canyon. Her immediate response was to cure my father, to find some method to set him free.

Yet I stand here looking at him, and I can't summon the strength to drive forwards.

Is it fear? That my father might not be everything I remembered? That if anything should go wrong, it could shatter what is left of him?

There must have been a reason Grandfather didn't cure him, perhaps I can find out why.

* * *

Junon-Edge Bridge

7:42am

* * *

Denzel had his face pressed against the window as he muttered quiet words of awe.

I kept my eyes on the road as best I could, but even I had to admit that the bridge really was something. I'd never bothered using it before; its main use was for industrial transportation between Junon and Edge. It was more hastle than help, not to mention being slower.

I heard shuffling beside me. "How do they build something like this?" he lowered his voice, "it's huge!"

"I'd guess that they build sections on land, then transport them by tug boats into place." It was how I'd seen a lot of above-water structures being built. Besides, Reeve had told me... but I couldn't tell Denzel that.

"Hey, Cloud." He turned to sit properly in his seat, still staring at me with an innocent smile, "can we hire a motorboat there?"

"Sure," I answered before turning back to the road.

Pumping a fist, he hissed, "yes!"

I couldn't help but smile. "They have lots of things to do there besides boating, y'know. There's Go-karting, Dodgems, Surfing..." I shrugged and turned my eyes to meet his. "There's a lot to do, we'll check it all out."

He looked so excited, nothing at all like last night. Then again, I think we all felt a lot better after packing the car and knowing we were getting away for a while. I turned back to face the road and lowered my window a little, letting the cool, salty air flow through the vehicle.

The remainder of the drive was uneventful. Neither Tifa nor Marlene had stirred during the six hour journey, Denzel fell asleep soon after we'd hit land. I wasn't quite sure how long I'd been driving, but before I knew it, Junon's new port came into view. I glanced down at my watch. _10:41am. _

Fatigue hit me like a hammer. "This late already," I sighed. No wonder I'm so tired.

There was a quiet shuffling in the back seat, followed by a rough yawn and a squeak. The unmistakable sound of Tifa stretching. "What time is it?" she asked, her voice gruff.

I shrugged and turned my head before whispering, "almost 11am."

Looking up into the mirror, I could see the comical mess of her bed hair.

Tifa bit at her lower lip before replying, "what? I'm sorry, you can take a break, it's my turn now."

Restraining a laugh, I shook my head instead. "It's okay, we're almost there," I replied, my attention on the gentle swerves in the road.

She crossed her arms, frowning up at me. Perhaps she felt bad for oversleeping, or perhaps she was grateful for the extra sleep; I didn't know, but I didn't mind either way. I was glad she had gotten some sleep.

I looked back at the mirror and saw her frown. "I'll drive home," she said, crossing her arms.

"Mmm, maybe," I replied.

I slowed the car, turning the sharp corner into the boat's empty queue. The heavy scent of sea air, along with smog from the boat's engine perked me up in no time. After shutting the car down and opening all the windows, I glanced over at Denzel, then back at Marlene.

"Well, if this ain't a surprise!"

I snapped my head to the voice's direction, smirking at the ticket officer. "Afternoon, Zell," I said and reached a hand out.

The old man took mine, giving me a rough handshake before rubbing at his beer belly. "Been a long time, son! Now what's this car business?" He flicked a finger at the vehicle, an eyebrow perked.

"We're going on vacation for a few weeks," I said, throwing a thumb at the occupants.

Zell leaned to his side, throwing a goofy smile into the back windows. "'ah see. Well then," he said, grunting as he reached for his back pocket. A large pad of tickets emerged between his fingers. He took a long drag of his thick cigar and tore a number of pages, handing them to me. "That'll be 1240gil."

I handed over 1300 in notes and took the tickets. "Thanks, Zell." I shook his hand once more and nodded.

Zell just winked and trotted off to the control unit, opening the barrier. "You kids 'ave a good trip!"

* * *

Costa Del Sol, Villa Cloud

2:22pm

* * *

"Okay! Who wants to go down to the beach?" Tifa laughed as Marlene and Denzel threw their hands into the air.

"I wanna go swim in the sea!" Denzel stuffed a potato in his mouth and grinned.

"I want to go and find pretty rocks to take home!" Marlene bounced on her seat, fiddling with the table cloth.

Cloud hunched over the table, glancing between the three of them with tired eyes. He'd been driving since the early hours; without having a chance to doze on the boat, the kids made sure he was awake with laughing and games. He'd only just set himself down on the sofabed, longing to drift into a deep sleep before being woken up to go get groceries.

Playing in the sea was the last thing on his mind.

"Go and get changed then," Tifa said, clapping her hands together.

The kids both nodded and jumped down from their chairs, bolting to their shared bedroom.

She called out after them, "and make sure you have two towels and a bag to hold the stones!"

Cloud jabbed a slice of ham, staring at Tifa.

She looked over to him while gathering dirty dishes from the table. "You can sleep on the beach, Cloud. I'll stay with them," she said, offering him an apologetic smile.

After swallowing, he took a sip of ice-cold water and grumbled, "Sure."

Tifa carried their plates to the sink before making her way to his side. "Thanks for driving all that way. I'll take the ride home," she said, resting her cheek against his neck.

A wave of fatigue passed over him; he closed his eyes in a long, drawn out blink. "No problem," he mumbled.

With that, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and made her way towards their room to grab her swimsuit.

Tifa couldn't help but feel a little bad; she hadn't meant to sleep the whole journey. Last night had been tiring for both of them. They had gone to bed shortly after their talk; laying with each other in silence, it hadn't been too long before she had drifted into a fragile sleep. Cloud had woken her up a while later, asking her if she wanted to leave right that moment.

She'd been surprised, but didn't argue. While the thought of taking that journey was a more than a little daunting, the idea of a vacation on the sunny stretch of the quiet beach town more than made up for it.

A fact that she was realising again right now.

The wardrobe opened with a quiet squeak, revealing all of the clothes she'd packed for Cloud and herself. She pursed her lips while fingering garments aside; none of them seemed suitable. A red, two-piece bikini was her first choice; even though the town was quiet this time of year, the beach almost empty, she wasn't so sure the kids should see her in something so revealing. Opting for a brand new, yellow one-piece instead, she slipped it off of the hanger and turned to throw it on the sofa bed.

She covered her mouth, snorting a laugh as Cloud frowned, the swimsuit dangling over his face.

"Thanks, Tifa," he said, pinching the swimsuit between his fingers and throwing it onto the sofa beside him.

Her hand fell from her mouth. "It would suit you," she chuckled.

Cloud rolled his eyes, stepping around her to grab a pair of swim shorts from one of the shelves. "I'll stick to these." He made his way to the sofa; making short work of his fleece and pants, he threw them to the floor without a second thought.

Tifa made herself look busy as she grabbed the swimsuit and turned it the right way around, making sure all the tags were removed. At least, that's what she wanted him to think. His scarred, pale chest always drew her attention away from what she was doing, though. His shoulders, both slim and defined; tummy, firm yet without chiseled muscles. She licked her lips, fighting the urge to reach out and touch him.

It took her a while, but she finally realised: _When does Cloud get changed with me in the room?_

He was oblivious to her looks; yanking his socks off while scratching an itch on his neck.

Tifa decided that if he was going to get undressed here, then so was she. Her white shirt came off in a flash, deliberately throwing it onto Cloud's lap.

He frowned, blinked then sniffed. Snapping his head up, he perked an eyebrow at Tifa's expression.

She swivelled on her heels, smiling down at him; eyes only partially visible behind long eyelashes.

Cloud tilted his head, glancing at their closed bedroom door, "Tifa?"

"Hmm?" She revelled in the fact that he had stopped what he was doing, his look of confusion and desire only fuelled her efforts. "What's wrong, Cloud?" she said, popping the button on her shorts.

He swallowed; glancing back at the bedroom door, listening for any outward signs of movement. "What are you doing?"

Tifa shimmied side-to-side, revealing her bra's matching white panties as the shorts dropped to her ankles. "What does it look like?" She stepped out of her shorts, kicking them over to his feet, "I'm getting changed," she stated.

His eyelids lowered; poking his tongue out to wet his lips while his gaze wandered over her form. Her gorgeous face with large, brown eyes; her chest, home to the most amazing pair of breasts he had ever seen, or felt. The large scar, a scar that brought back many bad memories, which led like a trail down her smooth stomach to her white panties. His gaze darted between each of her strong, toned thighs.

"I thought you were getting changed."

Cloud shook his head. "I-I am," he squeaked.

She grinned. _Cloud is so easy to mess with.

* * *

_

**A/N:**

**I considered carrying on, but I've been so busy recently that I wanted to get an update out to show you all I'm not dead.**

_**Just a side note: This will likely continue into a separate, M-rated chapter if my other one turns out well.**_

**Again, I'm sorry for the slow updates. I hope you'll all take a few moments to review, I'd appreciate it. **

**See you in the next chapter!**


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